A Matter of Time
by Ducibus
Summary: Meet me, fourteen years old and living in a cordyceps-raged era in a hydroelectric plant. Meet this auburn-haired chick with a unknown history who just arrived. Meet her guardian and mentor, the brother of one of the leaders of the dam. I'd say come and join us on this adventure...but you're already doing it.
1. So There's Me

Okay, it wasn't my choice to be born in a zombie apocalypse. Then again, is it anyone's choice to be born?

My name is Maria. I'm fourteen years old, born June 3rd, 2019, six years after the fungal outbreak known as cordyceps. I'd say something for you to Google, but you probably don't have internet, just like me.

The reason I know about electronics and past verbs like 'googling' is because of all the things we find, and the stories my mom tells us about life before the outbreak. Speaking of which, I live with my mom and older brother Michael (he goes by Mikey…at least by me), in the only known place to have electricity in the United States, which is a hydroelectric dam in Wyoming. I can't say the exact location, not for secrecy, but to be honest, I haven't seen a map in a while.

The town isn't the biggest, as compared to places like the pre-fungal (PF for short) New York City, which I'd love to visit from all the postcards and pictures I've seen that exist of it. Obviously not now, but you get my drift.

We've probably got a little over five hundred residents, which is considered to be a lot in this remaining world. About a quarter of that amount is kids, and of that amount of kids more than half are under the age of ten. Which is fine and all, don't get me wrong, but it gets _boring. _Boring as in the fact that there aren't that many fourteen year olds running around for me to befriend. I'm not much of a loner, my social skills and humor have been fine-tuned and tested from years on the run with my family, and I have a thing for Yo Mama jokes. Geez, am I advertising for myself?

School is another story. With the young residents actually having enough people to fill a classroom, the rest of us just clump together, eleven to seventeen. Our skill levels like reading and math are all over the place, so we have fun screwing over our teachers, with teachers being old professors who like to tell tall tales from the PF age and impress us with how the world once was rather than focus on the quadratic equation. Not that I'm complaining about that. Because of this way of teaching, I know more about history than anyone else. Plus we get access to the library, which is awesome.

A few weeks ago some new residents came into town, and being on summer break and all (technically we're always on break with this school system), I'm working up the nerve to befriend the girl. Apparently they're big news, because one of them is the brother to Tommy, who, with his wife, runs this dam. Personally, I don't like Maria. She's a bit…loud? Out there? Obviously I admire her courage, as her and her dad have brought up this rundown town into what it is today (a rundown town with electricity…hah).

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

"Okay, so Avery says if I let him borrow the Xbox 360 for three weeks, he'll let us have his PS3 for the same time."

I bite my lip, contemplating the decision. Mikey sits across from me, awaiting my verdict. This also has to be another thing of growing up in the during-fungal (DF) age…everything is limited. My brother and I managed to get our hands on a few electronics in our travels, and after charging them we were rewarded with things that actually work.

Between us older kids, we trade around gaming systems and barter with the weeks you're allowed to have them. So far I've played things like Kingdom Hearts, Super Smash Bros (which is a ton of fun with the neighborhood kids), Kirby and the Magic Mirror, The Dogz Island, and we had been working on Castle Crashers on the Xbox.

Mikey's into racing games with titles I can't remember, but he wants to get the PS3 for another one.

I shrug, "Sure, let him. I get to watch you play, right?"

To this he nods, and then I push back away from the table and stand up, "I'm going to go see if Mom needs any help."

"She's in the back." Mikey calls after me, and I give a nod to acknowledge hearing him.

Our home is a 'beaut', according to Tommy. It's right in the neighborhood, and it's got four bedrooms, three bathrooms, attic, kitchen, dining room, living room, family room (which is where a Ping-Pong table resides, and you have no idea how much we had to give up for that), a little laundry space, and my personal favorite, the Crow's Nest on the third floor.  
Pushing back the screen door to the backyard, I catch sight of Mom going after the poison ivy growing up the side of the tree with a pair of clippers.

Stepping out onto the sun-warmed wood of our back deck, "Hi."

She pauses and gives me a smile, "Hi, sweetie. How're doing?"

"Good. Need any help?

Snipping off another thin, leafy vine, "No, I'm alright."

I nod, and head back inside, feeling the cool rush of the AC smack me straight in the face…but it's a loving, comforting smack, if those should exist. I run up the stairs to the second floor, and then up the slick wooden stairs to the Crow's Nest.  
In the case of electronics, I have about three: my iPod Classic (named Felix), my laptop (you have no idea how jealous Mikey is that I found one before him), and my headphones, which are made of cushy-goodness and awesomeness.

Plugging headphones into Felix, I turn on my laptop. Every time I do this, I have to check the wifi for some reason, and see the last page opened before the internet went caput.

The internet seems large and vast and exciting. Sometimes I wish I was born in the PF era because of all the cool stuff those generations had. And then again, I guess growing up in the DF era now would be harder, because I'd remember how cool life once was.

My mom doesn't seem to be affected too much by it. She cracks jokes about pizza delivery was (I wish that still exists, to be honest), and how it was being a student in law school (her previous full-time occupation before the surviving the outbreak with me and my brother as little kids).

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
With trembling hands, I pick up the gun in my brother's room. Feeling the cold metal in my grip, I try to place a flittering finger on the trigger before dropping it all together.

I can't hold a gun, no matter how hard I try. Mikey will let me play with his airsoft pistol sometimes, and that's the closest I've ever gotten to holding something similar.

Picking it up, I lay it back in the top drawer of his dresser and shut it. It's stupid and silly and childish that at age fourteen, twenty years into the apocalypse...I've never aimed or fired on anyone. Back in the quarantine zone, I would always hide behind my mother and cling to her when the soldiers offered their guns to me and Mikey.

They weren't loaded and he played with them, but all I can remember is the fear that envelopes me. Is it something deeper? A memory that's trying to resurface?

I know people with guns kill people. I know how precious a single bullet is in this world. Is that it? Knowing that I can't afford to screw up, to mess up the shot?

Mom says she was unsure of guns and killing in general when the outbreak occurred, but she quickly understood the mindset that it was the opposing force or her going down, and she couldn't leave two little kids behind in this messed up world.

I open the drawer and observe the small revolver, hands shaking once more, trying to pick it up—"Pizza night!" Mikey calls up the stairs, and I drop the gun, hearing it click before lying flat on the bottom of the draw. Huh. Click.

In way of clickers and runners and bloaters, I've seen my fair share. My mom and brother handled those pretty well in our travels, and whether I was able with a gun or not, I never touched one in our journey.

Mikey's not used to handling the gun for months and years and then stopping all of a sudden. He's into airsoft like the other guys, and sometimes the adults will let them take over the back fields and have a huge battle. At these, I hang out with the girls who don't like to participate, and we'll kick around a soccer ball or play baseball.

The best times of these are when the adults let us take over a field at night. Some of the boys find glow sticks or other glow-in-the-dark items, like a Frisbee that lights up, and we play all night. Mom remarks about how maybe the cordyceps was a good thing for the kids, because in the PF era, they were so consumed with electronics and the internet and things like 'Facebook' and 'Twilight' and 'The Hunger Games', which I have seen and read. Too bad the cordyceps hit before the release of the second movie. That's my only regret.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
The other kids in the street hold their parents' hands, swinging them with a vigor as they skip. I can't help a smile coming onto my face, and glancing back at Mom and Mikey. Back in the quarantine zones, Mom and Mikey would take my arms and swing me up in the air. If you're wondering about my dad…he's just not in the picture

Pizza night is when Tommy and Maria and Dr. Mundell (Maria's papa) and the other adults bake a bunch of pizzas for the kids, and people bring in drinks and deserts and stuff, and the kids run around in the back fields while the adults and teens eat in the barns that back up to the fields. A while back I used to run around with the kids in the back with some other kids my age, and we'd put the little ones on our shoulders and have a lot of fun. Then they left, like some do, to try and find a better life, and I haven't seen them since.

We head to our usual table, which has my mom's friends and their kids, who are barely out of diapers. The oldest one at five, Tyler, admires my brother, and constantly wants to go into the back fields with his airsoft and play with the 'big boys'.

"Hi!" Tyler says, beaming and waving as we sit down. My mom plays along with a smile and waves back, "Hi, Tyler!"

Mikey gives her a look at this, and I grin, enjoying when I side with my mom to embarrass my brother. Mom strikes up a conversation with the parents,Ken and Lisa, while Mikey and I entertain ourselves by talking to Tyler.

"So, what'd you do today?" I ask, and Tyler grins, pulling his lower lip down and pointing to a black space, "Lost mah tooth!"

"Awesome! Gimme some five!" I say, holding my hand across the table for him to smack. He does so vigorously, and Mikey glances back at him, "Entering first grade next year, right?"

"Yes I am!" Bobbing his head, and I can't help but laugh at his energy. Mikey smiles, and then I glance back at Tyler, "Hey, I got a new joke for you. Alright, what do clouds wear under their pants?"

"Clouds don't wear pants." Mikey says under his breath, and I step on his toes under the table. Tyler thinks hard, looking thoughtful as he gazes up at the ceiling, and finally I give the answer, "Thunderpants!"

He collapses in a fit of giggles and I release my foot from the position on Mikey's toes. Just as I'm getting ready to tell another, a clinking sounds at the table at the front. Looks like we chose the barn with Tommy and his crew, because Maria, Dr. Mundell, and his brother sit at the table. That girl with the auburn hair is there too, and she's being shushed by Tommy's brother at something as Tommy silences the room.

"Alright, tables eleven and twelve are up first. After we'll have six and seven, nine and ten, and eight and five."

Everyone agrees and nods to this, and the selected tables stand up and go head over to where the piping hot pies lay. A bunch of kids get up from tables and head out to play in the back fields as a silent sign seems to pass through them. Tyler's among them, and he doesn't look back as he heads outside.

"You could go out with them." Mikey croons, and I shove him, "Stop it."

"Hey, Mike!" One of Mikey's friends is waving him over and Mikey doesn't have to think twice about leaving the table. I give him a look of loathing as he strides off, all über-confident to go and chill with his buddies.

Our table is table eight, and Tommy's is five. So looks like we'll both be going last. I sometimes worry about them running out of cheese pizza, and then I remember they've got all these kids that aren't about to take a slice of meat-lovers off the platter the first time.

I glance over at Tommy's table to where the girl is. The brother's name is something like John or Joe. I don't know her name though, and I'd like to make friends before school starts again.

Maybe it's cliché, thinking that she's the only one I can befriend. I like the other girls in my class and all just fine, but they're so consumed with makeup (if there's any left for them) and beauty (ditto…hah) and trying to doll themselves up so the boys will look at them. It's kind of like, we're living in an apocalypse, I'm not sure what else you can dress yourself in other than faded and dirty clothes. We do have washing machines though, but believe me, they definitely don't work enough for some of our gear.

Mikey comes back to our table just as our number is called, so I slide out from the worn park bench connecting to the table and head in a line behind everyone else.

Table number eight follows right behind, and the girl is behind me. Before we begin taking some slices, I hear her whispering to Tommy's brother, "What the hell is this?"  
"Pizza. It's good."  
"Looks pretty f—kin' weird."  
I try not to laugh at this and help myself to a few slices of cheese and a paper cup of a punch of some sort. Heading back to my table, I let myself snicker and Mikey asks in a dubious voice, "What the heck are you laughing at?"

"Nothing." I say, giving a smile as I sit down and bit into my very hot, very delicious pizza. I can't deny that the girl has the same reaction to pizza as I did, only difference being that I'd get in trouble with my mom for using the same language.

A few minutes into eating, Tommy stands up again to get our attention, and then Maria stands up as he sits down.  
"Tomorrow will be our monthly art show. It'll take place in the square and continue up to the woods. All are welcome to come. There will be face-painting for the kids, different artworks to display, ice cream, and it is open to everyone."

Chattering starts up again as she sits down, someone lets out a few shouts and whooping for it, and I grin to myself. _All are welcome to come, it is open to everyone. _Could she have made it more clear?

When we first arrived, back in April, I went to my first art show. With the supplies like paint and brushes low, artists here get creative. They'll paint on shards of glass, flat pieces of wood, and something paint a whole scene on bricks. Those are cool, because it's kind of a like a puzzle to set it up and show the right picture. Some people will have jewelry on display, and others will be open to commissions and trades and bartering.

Starting on my second slice of pizza, I try to think about the possibility of going. I once got to help at the face-painting both, where they use berries (pokeberries, but nonetheless ?!) to draw designs on the kids' faces.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

A half hour later I'm stuffed and kind of tired. My subtle pokes to Mom get us somewhere, and in a few minutes we've said our goodbyes and headed out.

The evening is cool, and I let my head loll back, gazing up at the countless stars in the inky sky. There used to be a saying I would tell about myself…_I have lived fourteen lives in fourteen years.  
_

People would get confused, and I've have to explain. I've been the sweet baby, the stumbling and clumsy two year old, the quiet three year old, the energetic four year old, the terrified five year old, the brave six year old, the determined seven year old, the cowering eight year old, the moral-line crosser nine year old, the confused ten year old, the knife-wielding eleven year old, the scarred twelve year old, the almost-infected thirteen year old…and here I am at fourteen. I don't know what I use to describe my life as it stands now. The surviving? The living? Still living?

But even I know, even in this safe and small town, evil always lurks. Death never wavers as an option, to fall victim of the infection. It claws at the back of my mind, coming from the deepest, darkest depths of my brain to scare me in the middle of the night.

I know that my fear with a gun will come back and hurt me and haunt me and screw me over at some point or another.

A few months back, before coming to town, my brother and I almost got infected by a runner. It was a vicious attack, and I remember trembling and shaking and wanting to cry but I couldn't, I couldn't cry.

Mikey shot the runner down and then came to me. At sixteen, he knew better than to pay attention to his little sister, but in that moment, terror still fresh in our minds, he let me hug him, and I remember shaking in his embrace involuntarily.

I'm so used to terror and fear and panic racing and coursing through my veins. Maybe it's an omen, a foreshadowing of some sort, but I've never truly felt safe anywhere. Forget the electric fence and the men willing to put their lives on the line for us. I know, and I have seen that in this world, it is only a matter of time that the reality of our situation will come crashing down, and we won't be able to get out of the way.


	2. And Then This Chick Ellie

**Due to a question posted, I decided to acknowledge the beginning of chapter 2. It was in the original writing but for some reason I did not post it in chapter 2 when I published it here. It may seem new but I can assure you I just forgot to copy and paste it correctly.**

**Hope this helps!**

Community movie nights are amusing for us older kids. We make fun of the movies and the reactions of the little ones and dare one another to run in front of the projector until the adults yell at us. That part is scary for a second, and then the person returns and we all bust out in chortles.

Mikey escapes to his friends within the first few minutes of arriving, taking a spot on the rusting shell of an abandoned car. I have to look for Ellie, of course, and find her standing off with Joel to the side.

She's wearing that faded grey long-sleeve under a red t-shirt, and jean shorts with black Converses. I can tell she's anxious by the way she keeps pulling the long sleeve over her fingers time and time again and commenting to Joel nervously.

I keep a smile on my face and my tone light as I walk up to them, "Hi, Ellie."

"Hey, Maria." She gives a shy wave back, which strikes me as unlikely. Then I gesture back to the cars, "That's where I'm sitting, if you want to join."

"Will do. Joel, I'll, uh…"

"Meet me back at Tommy's house when it's done." Joel says, and Ellie nods. He puts his hands in his pockets, watching all the little kids get set up on the grass, "Movies just aren't my thing."

I lead Ellie back to the group of teens, and introduce her, "Guys, this is Ellie. She's…uh…fourteen."

"Hi." Ellie says cheerfully, and Mikey deadpans, "Look, Maria finally found a friend."

Laughter choruses through the group and my face feels hot. Thank goodness for the dim lighting. Ellie takes a spot on the solid roof of a car, and I sit beside her.

"He seems like a jerk." She murmurs, gesturing to my brother. I shake my head, "Mikey's not…usually. He's my brother."

Her face reddens in the dim light (shoot, so everyone _did _see me blush), and I quickly add, "Don't worry. He doesn't care about my opinion all that much."

Ellie nods, and I glance at her rolling her hands up in her long sleeves again, rubbing them on her knees, "Aren't you hot?"

As if on instinct, she shakes her head, "No…I don't get hot too easily."

"Hmm." I murmur, taking that into consideration. The movie starts up, and everyone silences.

It's something about talking bears, animated and as sweet as it gets. Ready to crack a joke about it, I glance over at Ellie.

Her lime green eyes are wide, her mouth slightly opening in a smile, taking in the screen and the characters and the animations just as much as the little kids are. It occurs to me that us older kids have been spoiled and all, because over the course of however long we've been here, we've seen almost all the movies this place has to offer.

Unlike a usual night, which would involve a lot of side-commenting from us and snickering and elbowing and nudging, I lean back on my hands, gazing at the screen and trying to put myself in Ellie's shoes, taking in the movie as if it's my first time seeing moving pictures across the screen.

And I begin to smile as well.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
It goes without saying that I hate nightmares. I hate them. I hate them so much, because it's my mind's way of saying _Haha, psych!_

Heart pounding, I wake up in a cold sweat, my eyes flashing open as I come face-to-face with the darkness in my bedroom. Still terrifying, but I'm not in the clutches of a clicker like I was seconds before in my nightmare.

I grab Felix and my headphones off of the nightstand, slipping on my headphones and letting myself be drowned in songs from years and years ago.

_Art show today. _I think to myself, trying to get my mind away from the throbbing in my head and the sick feeling in my stomach.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

It's a long half-hour walk from where our house is to where the art show is. I've gotten used to the route, so much so that Mom lets me walk alone.

Felix in hand and headphones on ears, I let myself walk down the cracked asphalt street in tune to the drums of a song.

Mom works with some of the other people in town who figure we should probably have some system of government or leadership and all. Being in law school before the outbreak enables her with some vital information, so she works with them on what sort of leadership we would have in the town. Obviously we don't have laws or anything like that, just unspoken rules like _Don't kill your neighbor's animals, _and things like _Just don't kill your neighbor._

I see colorful booths and tables set up ahead in the center of town, and I click off Felix, placing him in my pocket before and pushing my headphones down around my neck.

Kids run around freely and adults mingle around, talking and chatting and laughing while observing the artworks. I am a fly, and no one seems to mind me slipping through the crowds.

Music plays somewhere, a guitar I think, and I slow my pace, taking the time to actually look over the booths and admire some of the artwork. Artists here have to be creative with limited materials.

My favorite is the glass and metal sculptures. With glass bottles and cans from soda and soup lying around, some people make pretty amazing things.  
I haven't found a table with their things yet, and then pause, gazing up at one of the paintings on a flat piece of wood.

A while ago the adults had a debate over whether or not to show clickers and runners and bloaters to the young children. Even though it's been settled and we try to hide it from the smaller kids, I have to admire the courage of this artist to put the piece on display.

It's a runner coming straight for the viewer, mouth open, veins bulging in the face and around the eyes, which have a glassy yet terrifying trait to them. Blood trains down from the infection wound on their neck, and their mouth hangs open, their body at awkward angles and joints popped. I can't tell whether it's male or female, the neutral rags it wears not giving a hint to either.  
I stand stock-still, remembering when the runner attacked my brother and I. It's months and months ago, but yet I can't stop from hearing the gargled noises from it, the sound it released before charging, how close I came to going down.

"Does it look familiar to you two?" The artist asks, emerging from the depths of her booth. She's young, maybe early twenties or so, with black hair pulled back under a faded blue bandana. She has a piercing in her lip, and dark eyes.

_You two? _I think, only turning left to face the auburn mystery beside me. Her eyes are a lime green, bright and gazing thoughtfully at the picture, and there's a scar on her right eyebrow. She seems about my age.

As I glance back at the artist, I give a shrug and half-smile, hands in the pockets of my shorts, "They all look the same in the end, anyway."

She laughs at this, "True that, kid."

Then, extending her hand forward, "I'm Mitzy."

"Maria." I say, returning the handshake. Mitzy nods, and then jerks her thumb over her shoulder, "If you're curious, there's ice cream that way. I personally recommend the strawberry."

"Thanks for the advice." I say, and give a nod as I head off. The girl's gone, and I head off to find ice cream.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

Strawberry ice cream is pink and delicious. I spoon another bite of it into my mouth, savoring the flavor and the smooth texture. If you could get all the nutrients you needed from ice cream, I think I'd be five hundred pounds…and still keep eating away.

"Hey," The girl turns her head over her shoulder, gesturing for Tommy's brother to follow her, "There's a spot over here."

I focus on my spoon and faded bowl, not making a noise as they sit beside me on a crumbling brick wall. My headphones and Felix lay on the other side of me.

"Ever had ice cream before?" Tommy's brother (TB for short), asks, and she shakes her head, almost smacking me with her ponytail. "Nope. Never."

"Sarah and I used to get it at this place called…ah, I can't remember the name of it now. They'd mix your toppings into the ice cream, like gummy bears and hot fudge and chunks of brownie." I detect a worn Texan accent in his voice. I'd say Southern, but after living in close quarters with people from all over, you've learned to distinguish accents.

"Mmm. Sounds good." The girl remarks, leaning back on two hands with her ice cream by the side of her. TB gestures to it with his spoon, "Aren't you gonna eat that?"

"Hold your horses. I'm just relaxing." She says, and I face my own cup again, spooning in another pink bite. The silence is killing me, and I don't want to leave because I feel like that will make me look rude.

Finally, I hear a shuffle and she sits back up, TB glancing at the mulch on her back, but thinking better of it and closing his mouth instead of telling her. She's wearing long sleeves, which I still can't believe in this heat.

Taking the cup from where she set it, I suppose she glances down at it, "Hey. It's…liquid."

"It's ice cream. It melts." TB remarks, and she shoves him, "Thanks for that helpful tip."

TB laughs, and I smile at the conversation. Then the girl makes a gesture with her arms, and the liquid ice cream goes all over me.

Pink droplets drift of the edge of my curly bangs, joining the steady stream down my face, plopping off my chin, and trailing down my neck, pooling at the collar of my t-shirt while some of it goes over my t-shirt and underneath (!).  
My right arm and right leg are covered, and droplets trail off of my shorts while other slip down into my shoe.

"Oh…" The girl breathes, and TB gives her a look, "Ellie."

"Sorry. I was just—and then you—uh, Joel?"

"Yes?"

I lick the spots nearest my mouth. Ellie. Huh. So _that's _her name. And the brother…Joel? Pfft. It's _close _with John. Then I turn to face them, managing to grin at the unluckiness of the situation, "Uh…hi?"

Ellie glances at me, and her expression changes. She clamps her lips shut, and Joel gives her a nudge, "Are you laughing?"

At this, I laugh myself, and she joins in. "Didn't mean to spill ice cream all over you."

"It's fine." I say, slipping off the wall. I feel the droplets that dared to come into my shirt trail down to my shorts, and I give them a smile, "I needed to cool off, anyway."

Tossing out my empty cup and spoon in the tray for dirty dishes, I turn back to face them. Joel sizes me up, covered in ice cream, "How far away do you live?"

"Newton Street." I say, resisting the urge to use the corner of my shirt to wipe the ice cream out of my face. Joel whistles, "I reckon you got a way to go before you reach home."

I nod, coming back and retrieving my electronics. Then Joel glances at Ellie, "Go get her to Maria and Tommy. I think they're in the back center, and they can get her cleaned up."

"It's alright—" I begin, palms up, and Ellie blows a raspberry before, "Uh…where is that?"

He gives her a stern look, and a whole conversation seems to pass through their eyes, something along the lines of _You caused this mess, you clean it up._

"Riiight…okay. C'mon." Ellie says to me, slipping off the wall and leading me back through the streets to the back center (I have no idea where that is, by the way).

Following her, I glance across the street to see if Mitzy's still there. Apparently not, and I trudge along.

"And the booths should—Ellie?" Maria's face of surprise is priceless, and Ellie walks up to her, no trouble. Tommy glances our way, and Ellie motions for me to come up.

"Maria, meet…Maria." _How does she know my name? Oh wait…the booth. Ah._

Maria glances at Ellie, and Tommy chuckles, "I assume the ice cream was your doing?"

"Joel wanted me to get her cleaned up because she lives far away." Ellie gives a shrug to this, and I'm about to fume. _I'm right here, you dunce. I can speak for myself._

Maria nods, and then leads Ellie and I into the small kitchen, "There's a sink over there, and I'll get some towels." With this she leaves, and I feel myself giving a mental sigh. _I'm fourteen, I can walk back home, it's ICE CREAM, not POISON._

But nonetheless Maria returns with towels, and I work on scrubbing the ice cream from my hair, face, and my assaulted arm and leg.

"So, Maria," I glance up from where I hunch over my leg, "how old are you?"

"Fourteen." I reply, and Maria nods. Then she gestures to Ellie, "So is Ellie."

"I'm about to turn fifteen." Ellie says quickly, and Maria chuckles. "Not for a month or two."

Ellie crosses her arms over her chest, and I return the towel to the counter, "Thanks for the help."

Ellie nods, and Maria goes on, "You two should get together sometime. Maybe at a community movie night?"

Those…us teens make fun of those. They're where the adults project movies onto the screen, often old animated Disney or Pixar classics, and all the kids ooh and aah while we try not to bust out laughing in the shadows, nudging and poking each other from the hoods of abandoned cars.

I can't let Maria know this, though, and instead nod, "Yeah. That seems like fun."

Ellie makes a noise at this, and Maria gives me a smile, "Excuse us for a second, will you?"

With this, she takes Ellie's upper arm and walks her out. I wait until they're a safe distance away until I move away from the counter, moving to the doorway and letting my fingers curl around the worn wooden post before peering out.

"Ellie, you've been here almost for a month. Don't you think you need some interactions with the other kids?"

"Thanks for the help Maria, but my 'friends' aren't living any more. I'd really not to add to that list."

"Ellie—" She pulls away from Maria's grasp, but Maria takes a step forward, "You're safe here, I promise."

Ellie tenses at the language, and smoothes it over at the last second so Maria doesn't see. I pick it up though, and finally Ellie relents.

Maria makes her look her in the eyes, "All Joel wants for you is to be happy here. Why not try to hang out with the other kids? Go eat ice cream, play a few videogames. If not for me, then for him."

Ellie opens her mouth, her eyebrows narrowed as to really tell Maria off, then she looks away and lets the expression drop, not meeting her eyes, "I'll…try."

Maria gives her a smile, but she doesn't see. I slip back into the room, and in a few seconds they reappear, Ellie giving one of the worst smiles possible. It almost makes me laugh, and I can see she's doing it deliberately, to fool Maria and tease me.

"I'm sure Joel is probably wondering where we went, so we're gonna head back." Ellie says, and I give a smile to Maria, "It was nice to meet you."

She nods back, and follows out of the center. Tommy glances at us, and then, "Ellie?"

"Yeah?"

"We're mucking out horse stables at five." Tommy gives her a wink, and Ellie's smile grows realer, truer, "Really?"

"Yeah. Don't forget your boots." Ellie nods to this, and I give a wave. Maria comes to Tommy's side and I assume she's going to fill him in on me. That tall kid.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

A few minutes later and Joel stands up to greet Ellie. She says upon arrival, "Tommy's mucking out stables at five."

"Gonna go see Callus Jr.?" Joel asks, and Ellie nods, "Yup."

"Still think that's a stupid name for a horse." Joel remarks, and Ellie elbows him, "What would you have named him?"

Joel gets stuck on this question, then gives a smile and nod to me, "Sorry we didn't make introductions beforehand. I'm Joel."  
"Maria." I say, sticking out my hand for the second time today. He shakes it, and then Ellie gives a smile to me, remembering Maria's words, "I'll see you at the community movie night, then."

"Right. I'm going to head home." With this I give a little smile and wave. As Ellie and Joel turn away, I catch a bit of their conversation.

"I'm glad to see you making friends." Joel says. Ellie pauses, and then, "Yeah."

Another long pause, and then, "Are you really going to make me muck out the stalls?"

I can hear Joel's laughter, and then a faint, "Yes I am, baby girl."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
Flopping down onto my brother's bed in his room, "Did you get the PS3?"

He nods, focused on drifting and changing gears with the little plastic buttons, "Avery says you can head over to his house if you still want to play on the xBox. He's working on...ah, I can't remember the name."

_I can come over to his house...uh, ha-ha, nope. _I think to myself, crossing my legs as I watch him play. After a few minutes, "Can I play?"

Mikey gives me a look, but hands me the controller nonetheless, pointing to the little buttons, "Here's the gas. That's the brake, and that's to switch gears...don't press that button. This is for going in reverse, and that's to change camera angles."

I nod, "Got it." Glancing at the white with blue stripes Lamborghini on the screen, I press the gas button.

"Hit the brake!" Mikey calls out, as I spin out and hit the sides on a turn. I begin laughing, then reverse, "Alright, alright, take two."

I increase the speed gradually, trying to impress my brother that I can, indeed, drive this car on this new system. Then another turn comes and screws me over, and I begin laughing once more after trying to shut myself up.

"You are hopeless." Mikey says, but he's smiling. I give him a good shove with my foot as he leans back on the bed, "Yeah, yeah, say what you want."

After a good twenty minutes of him sighing at my incompetence as I view it as funny and laugh, Mom calls us for help with dinner downstairs.

Mikey pauses the game and I roll off the bed and onto my feet, running down the carpeted stairs to her voice. Mom gives me a smile, "Hey, how was the art show?"

"It was good. They had ice cream there."

"What'd you get?" Mom asks, and the day's events come crashing back into my mind. I give a grin to myself as I begin to shuck the corn, "Strawberry. It was pretty good."

_I also got it all over me. _I think to add, remembering, _Thanks, Ellie._

But I don't say anything more. After a few minutes of shucking the corn, "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know when the next community night is?"

Mom pauses, thinking hard, "Tommy said something about it...maybe a few days from now. Why do you ask?"

"Oh nothing." I pause, moving on to the third and last piece of corn. "Just...wondering."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
Late that night, lying on my side with my headphones on and music blasting, I think back to Mitzy and the runner painting.

_"They all look the same in the end." "True that, kid."_

Why had I said that?

Thinking back to the painting, I squeeze my eyes shut as if to disperse the image from my brain. I hear the gargled shouts through the music drowning in my ears, and my eyes flash open as I search my room with light from Felix. Placing two fingers on my throat, I feel my pulse racing.

_I'm safe._ I think, but I know that nightmares will await me as I drift into unconscious, my mind's own little hell.

_You're safe. _I remind myself, trying to think of happy times and thoughts, like playing videogames with Mikey and meeting Ellie and Joel and how nice and soft my bed is with its blankets and pillow and knowing Mikey has a gun in his top drawer, Mikey has a gun in his top drawer and he can shoot down anything in sight without a second thought.

Without a second thought, without a second thought _I'm safe, I'm safe, I'm safe, _no nightmares tonight, I've convinced myself and it is fine.

_Ha ha..._

_Psych._


	3. We Find This 'Triple Phoenix' Game

I wake up the next morning to sunshine streaming through my small window, and sink deeper in my blankets. There's a fine line between getting up and getting out of bed, and I'm straddling it.

Blinking slightly, I let my eyelids drift downwards slowly, enjoying the moment. There is nothing you appreciate more after months and years on the run than a comfy bed to call your own. Then, of course, there's shelter and all…but a bed comes above all else.

Finally I throw back my blankets, stretching and making little dinosaur noises (reee!), before walking over to my duffel and picking out some of today's clothes.

It's strange to think we've lived here almost four months, and yet I still live out of bags instead of the dressers here. I suppose it's habit. My biggest fear is leaving here without all of my things.

Well, that's at least one of them.

After getting dressed, I pull my hair back into a ponytail and glance at myself in the freshly cleaned mirror. Hmm. As appearance goes, I'm not too bad. I'm tall…which may sound good, but I tower over everyone else. Dr. Mundell thinks it's because of my parents. I've almost surpassed my mom, and my dad…well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

I pad down the steps to the kitchen, and open up the fridge, which is a joke. There aren't much pre-packaged things floating around, usually it's empty, pardoning our water bottles and maybe a granola bar or some fresh fruits and vegetables around.

Grabbing my bottle and an apple, I eat a quick breakfast, pacing the worn linoleum as I think about the day's plans. Often it involves me up in the Crow's Nest, playing games on my laptop, or walking the streets with Felix until I find other kids.

Or…hey. I could go see Ellie. A quick glance at the clock on the microwave reveals it's only 11. Hmm. Am I getting up early?

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
I pray (wait, I never pray)…I _wish _(ah, better), that Ellie opens up the door. Because that could make all the difference of how this plays out.

I knock three times, then stand back, tightening my faded drawstring as I bounce from foot to foot.

_Try not to sound like an idiot. Say something sophisticated. "Hello. I was wondering if Ellie wanted to come with me and some other kids to…" Ah, crap. _I laugh to myself, and then the door opens up, revealing…Joel?

"Hello." He says, and I muster in a high voice, "Can Ellie come out and play?"

He seems taken back, and I can't help myself from laughing while mentally face-palming, "That wasn't sophisticated at all, was it?"

"Can't say it was. She's, uh, upstairs taking a shower." Joel's eyes glint as he agrees with my previous statement, and I can feel his respect for me sinking lower by the minute. I nod, my plans and courage crumbling slightly, "Oh…"

"Why don't you come inside? I was just about to leave to go see Tommy…but I'll manage to stick around for a few more minutes." Joel suggests, stepping back and holding the door open.

Giving a smile and nod as I walk into the house, "Thanks." Then I glance around.

It's a crossover between our house and the townhouses I've seen around. Big, but not massive. Cozy, almost. The furniture isn't grand and stately, but it fits the small place. The fireplace sits on the right, surrounded by an array of a couch and recliner and a few armchairs.

I take a seat on the couch, taking off my drawstring and setting it beside me. Joel walks into the kitchen, which is a few feet off of the living area, "Do you want anything? I just put on a pot of coffee."

"I'm okay, but thanks." I say, trying not to cringe at the mention coffee. I hate it so much, even though we've had to drink it numerous times in our travels. While Mikey and Mom downed it without an issue, I'd just warm up some hot water, and that woke me up just fine.  
The water shuts off in the house, and Ellie's voice calls down the stairs, "Joel?"

"Yes?"

"Where are the f—oh, hold on…never mind." I hear footsteps and then a door closing. I glance back at Joel, trying to rack my minds for questions so I don't have to sit here in awkward silence. He pours himself a mug of coffee, "Ellie says you, uh…you got an older brother."

I nod, "Yeah. Michael."

"Does he have an intention on being on the force?" The 'force' is basically border patrol. I shake my head, "No sir. My mom is worried about our survival enough as it stands."

Joel nods, taking consideration in for my mom's choice. I pause, trying to get my confidence up, swallow hard, and then, "Do you have a son?"

"No. I, ah, I…" he drifts off, thinking hard as he glances out the small kitchen window. Taking another sip of coffee before continuing, "I'm just looking after Ellie now."

I nod, not about to push on. After a few minutes the footsteps sound once more, and I glance at the staircase, seeing Ellie come down the steps in a t-shirt, "Hey Joel, do you—uh…hi, Maria?"

"Hi." I say, and Joel looks over at her, "Ellie?"

She jerks her head to him, obviously surprised by my presence (score 1 for me for a sexy existence), and then, with a sheepish smile,

"Do we have any rags? For my, uh…_arm_?"

It takes Joel a flash of a second before he nods, "Yeah. Here, I'll show them to you."

"Did you hurt your arm?" I ask, and Ellie gives a shrug to me as Joel crosses over the faded carpet to the stairs, "More or less."

So I sit by myself for a few seconds, relaxing on the couch, until finally Ellie bounds down the stairs, wearing a long-sleeve baseball tee, jean shorts, and her worn shoes. She takes a spot on an armchair opposite of me, "If you don't take it the wrong way…what are you doing here?"

Sounds a bit harsh, I know, but Ellie's just…upfront. I shrug, sitting up, "Thought we could hang out and I could introduce to some of the other kids."

Ellie nods, "Oh. Right."

Joel crosses across the carpet once more, retrieving his cup of coffee, "You leavin', Ellie? I'll be at the power plant until 6 or so."

"I don't know…" Ellie admits, and Joel glances over at her, "Or you can sit around with that horse that you've given that God-awful name to."

"Callus Jr. is not an awful name!" She shoots back, but I catch the glint in Joel's eye, satisfaction at getting under her skin. Ellie catches it too, "Oh, you—"

"At least remember to bring your backpack." Joel cuts her off effectively, tossing her a little green and navy bookbag with pins and a purple monster keychain. Ellie rolls her eyes, "Fine, fine. Whatever makes the old man happy."

She gives me a grin at this and I return it. Then I stand up, pulling on my drawstring, "It was nice talking to you, Joel."

"It was, Maria. I'll see you two back here at…matter of fact, just come to the power plant."

"Will do."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
"So, where are we off to first?" Ellie asks in a monotone, and I shake my head, "We're not meeting anyone. I want to go scout out some houses first."

"Scouting houses?" Ellie asks, eyebrows poised. I give a half-shrug and a sheepish smile, "Raid, more or less."

"You do this with the other kids?" She asks as we continue on the path. I shake my head, "No, not really."

"Don't I feel special." She murmurs under her breath, and I give her a nudge, "C'mon. It's not that bad. We look for anything of value. Comics, books, stuffed animals, electronics…"

"Is your brother good with electronics?" Ellie asks, curious. I pause, continuing my stride for a good bit before coming up with a suitable answer, "Yeah…I guess."

I don't feel like giving her too false of information, "But his friend Matt is really good with them. Why?"

Ellie whistles, observing the upkeep (non-existant, might I add), as we walk farther and farther out from the civilization. I don't notice she's deliberately avoided the question until it's been too long to bring it up again.

I glance at the houses, open and abandoned, and Ellie comes to my side, "Aren't the coming families going to take these?"

I shake my head, "No. Tommy says that their structures are awful, y'know, 'good bones but awful meat'."

"I guess it'd take a lot to get them up and running." Ellie notes, and I nod, "Yup."

Then she hitches her bag up onto her shoulder, "There better be something good in here."

Raiding houses makes me feel as if I'm on the run again. Mikey and I raided old houses all the time, and he and his friends leave the town sometimes to explore the neighboring ranches. I guess that despite the safeness we like here, most of us grew up exploring, and it feels wrong to suddenly stop after years and years.

Ellie's almost cleared out the first floor, kicking aside a brush of leaves from a culprit broken window. I head upstairs, eager to see if there's anything to make our trip worthwhile.

Much to my sucky luck, there isn't. I scour the bedrooms, the bathroom, even a hallway closet, only to find that there's nothing of value.

"Anything up there?" Ellie calls up the stairs, and I shake my head, coming down them, "Nope. Let's check the next house."

So we do. And the one after that, and as we reach our fourth, I give a look to Ellie, "Let's head back now. I'm beat."

She pauses, taking it into consideration, then shoulders me with her backpack, "One more house. If it's another bust, then we'll head back home."

I nod in agreement, and Ellie kicks the door open. I learned that she loves doing that, because even if it's something as insignificant as a closet, she doesn't resist the opportunity to kick the doors open.

Stepping inside, a wave of cobwebs and dust greets us, and I go to work on the lower floor, letting her run up the squeaking wooden steps to the bedrooms.

Huh. Not too bad. We had both agreed a house or two back to not explore the basements, mainly because of the fact we didn't know if any bodies or clickers remained down there.

I check the cabinets, rewarded with a few cans of soup and some granola bars. There's a shattered TV, and underneath it is a cabinet. Kneeling, I press it open, seeing it's jammed.

I reach back into my drawstring, grabbing my switchblade and fiddling with it. I'm no genius, but I'm no idiot, either. After a few minutes, I get it working, and open it up to come face-to-face with plastic cases to DVD's and videogames.

"Score." I grin, and begin shoveling the stuff into my bag. Maybe it's all broken or empty, but then again, maybe I've found something worthwhile. It's all a matter of attitude.

"Ellie?" I call, leaping to my feet. No response. Can she not hear me?

I move to the base of the stairs, "Ellie? You up there?"

I'm greeted with more silence, and I head up the stairs, wary of the creaking wood beneath my feet. I take a page out of her book and kick the doors to a bedroom and bathroom open, and then I enter the opposing bedroom by twisting the knob to the worn door,

"Ellie?"

I glance around the room. Two windows on the wall show the beautiful mountain range surrounding us and illuminate the space, showing off the bed, dresser, desk, and the auburn-haired girl chilling by the window pane.

"Ellie…?" I speak with uncertainty, and she turns for a split second, registering the fact that it's me, then smiles and waves me over, "C'mere."

I bring my eyebrows together in confusion, but walk across the lighted room nonetheless. I come to her side, "Woah…"

On the opposite side of the window, baby birds chirp in their nesting of a flower box. The mother looms over them, looping her talons on the edges of the metal box and keeping an eye on her chicks.

A swelling in my chest follows, but it's a nice swelling, like hope that these little creatures will survive. They waddle around on their skinny legs, plump and fluffy with feathers, bumping into one another and causing more chirping. The mother watches over them with intent black eyes, capable and ready.

We don't say anything in that moment or promise to be best friends forever or look for more baby animals...it's just the simplicity of sharing a moment like this together.

Finally Ellie turns her head to face me, a real smile on her face, "So freakin' cool."

A few minutes later we kick off our shoes and sit cross-legged on the bed, splitting a snack of granola bars and water from my bottle.

I pull out the videogames and DVDs from downstairs, and we go through a process with them: open them up, check to see if there's a disk, snap it shut, put it back. After this over the past few minutes, we find that a handful of them actually have disks that aren't busted, and I slip them back into my backpack.

We lean against the wall the bed's pushed up against, and I gaze out at the amazing view, hearing the baby birds chirping in their flower box.

"You find anything up here?" I ask, glancing over at her. She shrugs, glancing over at her own backpack, "A few comics."

I slip my hand into my backpack, pulling up a videogame and handing it to her, "Does this look any good?"

"'Triple Phoenix- A story about three pigeons mutating from a dip in radioactive fluid. For players age 10 and up. Play as Hawkeye, Bleu Jay, or Robin with your friends as you battle through hundreds of levels and mini-games!'." Ellie reads from the back cover, and a small smile begins to play on her face.

"You know about it?" I ask, and Ellie shrugs, glancing at the faded cover art with something else lingering in her eyes. "Yeah. It's…based off a cartoon that was really popular."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
Walking back from the run-in with the baby birds and raiding houses, we stay in silence. I'm a good few feet into town, and I glance over at Ellie, realizing she's not by my side.

Turning, I see her back at to me as she gazes at the empty houses. Her head cocked back slightly and her auburn ponytail hanging over her faded backpack, she looks as if she's questioning some bigger.

She turns her head and catches me looking, and then whirls around to come back to my side.

We don't talk for the first few minutes, and then, "Do you think they'll live?"

"The baby birds, you mean?" At this she shoots me a look like _what else_? Then I shrug. "I can't be one to say. But I hope so."

Ellie keeps her head down, facing her feet as her hand curls around the strap on her backpack, "Maria?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you...believe in an afterlife?"

Huh. In terms of religion and God my mom tried to educate my brother and I. I can't count the number of times she's celebrated Christmas with us on the run, revealing rag-and-newspaper wrapped toys she'd kept in her backpack for months to surprise us.

But going back to the afterlife...I give a shrug to Ellie, "I guess...maybe. What about you?"

She stays quiet for a few minutes, then, "I guess I do."

I hear the uncertainty in her voice and nudge her with my shoulder, "You don't sound too convinced."

Making a face and her mouth in a peculiar twist, she shakes her head, "I don't...really. I try to think about it...because then I think that all those deaths I saw, those people might have gotten a second chance."

The gravel shifts and crackles under our feet, and then I swallow, finding my courage to keep the conversation going, "My mom talks about heaven sometimes. She says we're in good hands, that there're a lot of people looking out for us 'up there'."

"You know about your family?" Ellie asks, and I can detect something in her voice. A longing. What did Joel say? _"I'm just looking out for Ellie."_

Maybe she's as alone as I am.

I give a slight smile, "My great-grandfather stowed away on a boat when he was eleven to come to America."

"Really?" Her lime green eyes are alert, curious for more, and I nod, "Yup. He was convinced there must've been something better than living in poverty."

"Must be hard, leaving your family and starting a new life at eleven." Ellie remarks, whistling. I shrug, "I suppose." Then, as silence threatens to take hold of the conversation, I muster up the strength to admit, "It's kind of silly...but I use it to encourage me. Like if he could escape on a boat at eleven to a whole other world and know no one, who's to say I can't survive this apocalypse?"

Ellie nods, and then we continue to walk in silence the rest of the way to the power plant. They let us in, knowing me for my mom and Ellie for Joel and Tommy, and we head up the rickety metal steps to the headquarters, which overlooks the plant and the view of the mountains. Another awesome view.

Ellie twists the knob and pushes the door open, and Joel and Tommy look up from where they're conversing over a piece of paper, a map, maybe.

Tommy breaks out into a smile, "Hi, girls."

"Hi." Ellie says, and I give a wave. Ellie sits in a chair beside Joel, who gives her a look, "Meet new people?"

"Yeah." She doesn't meet his eyes, and I'm hoping to not get a black mark beside my name. Then I inch closer to the door, "My mom's probably going to need my help with dinner. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Tommy nods, and Joel looks over at me, "We're heading to the stables tomorrow at around eleven, if you're interested in coming."

_Setting up playdates so I hang out with Ellie. Clever. _I think in my mind, and then I nod, "I'll...be at your house at eleven, then."

Joel nods in agreement, and as I lay my hand on the cool, metal knob, Ellie whirls around in her chair, her lime eyes intense, "Maria?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell me if that game's any good." I catch a smile with this and return it, give a nod as I leave, "I will. See you tomorrow."

As the door closes and I'm making my way down the rickety steps, I feel as if a weight's been lifted, my mind racing with ideas. There's so much behind that videogame with Ellie than what she's letting on.

And I make myself a promise. I'm going to find three controllers so Mikey, me, and Ellie can all play. I'm doubting it's going to have her reveal all of her history to us, but maybe...it'll help her lighten up a bit.

Maybe she'll just enjoy playing videogames with us, and that's enough for me.


	4. And Ride Horses And Swim

If there's one thing I have trouble understanding, it's my mom's guilt for my brother and I. Often times she'll remark, and I know this is going to sound terrible on her part, that she's worried to have brought me and Mikey into this world, this crazy, wild world. She feels guilt at that, because she knew she couldn't give my brother and me a regular childhood like her own, and yet she had us anyway.

The thoughts and emotions will come and dance across her face sometimes, like after dinner, when Mikey escapes back up to his room, when I'm putting the dishes away.

When they do come, she'll give me this tired smile, and say something like, "I feel like I haven't done enough for you both."

And I'll convince her. Because, who, above all us, carries and balances two kids on her hips trekking across America? And who's kept us fed on the road and made sure to push herself to go those extra miles so Mikey and I could actually sleep on beds in an abandoned town? And who made sure we didn't fall behind in our schooling, and taught us how to read and write and add and subtract and multiply and divide, all while holding a gun in the back pocket of her faded jeans to defend and protect us?

After I've listed as much as I can, she gives me a smile, and I take a seat beside her. But for some reason, it's different tonight.  
It doesn't happen every night, maybe once in a blue moon that she'll remark feeling guilty, and tonight I can't help but think about Ellie.

_"Do you think they'll survive?"_

"You know about your family?"

It's as if her words are the tip of the iceberg. She doesn't have a family. She has Joel. She doesn't know if she'll survive. She knows it's a matter of time.

Like so many of us.

"Hey Mom?" I begin, and Mom looks up, "Yeah, sweetie?"

"I'm, uh, going over to the stables with Ellie tomorrow." I say, and Mom raises her eyebrows at me, "Really?"

"Uh…yeah. Um, she invited me. Well, Joel did, but, well…can I go?"

Mom nods, "Sure. Just be back home, alright?"

I nod, "Right."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
_Get cho lazy butt up._

Mmm…nope.

Get up. Horsies. Ponies.

Horsies. Oh, FML.

An internal conversation runs through my mind as I contemplate whether to get up or not. It's almost eleven, and I have to head over because…Callus Jr.

Getting up, I hit my toe on the edge of my bed, which almost makes me curse as much as Ellie, before reaching my duffel.

Pulling out a fresh t-shirt and my worn shorts, I head off to the bathroom to get ready. After making sure I look utterly fabulous, I grab the stairwell banister at the end of the stairs and fling myself into the kitchen, "Morning, Mom!"

"Morning, Maria." Mom says, reading something as I scour the fridge. I pull out an apple, "Are they going to have peaches here?"

"Sometime soon." She remarks, flipping a page. I gulp down half of my water bottle before refilling it and tossing it in my drawstring. I sit on the last step by the front door, tying on my shoes with the apple still in my mouth.

"You're going to make yourself sick." She says, giving me a look as I chomp off a huge hunk of the fruit and crunch it in my mouth. Wiping my mouth on the back of my hands, I give a shrug, "I'll worry about it when the time comes."

Then I cross over the kitchen, tightening my drawstring before giving her a kiss, "Love you."

"Love you too. And please, be careful."

"Mom…" I begin, and she gives me a look, "What?"

"It's horses."

"I know, sweetie. But…you know what I mean."

I nod, and then give a wave, "Alright, see ya later!"

I race out the front door. I kind of feel the need to sprint to their house, only…eh. I continue eating my apple, tossing the core on the grassy sides of the street, then wipe my mouth on the back of my hand, wary of the stickiness from the juice dribbling down my chin.

I knock on the door, standing back and wishing to not have a repeat of what happened yesterday, and Tommy opens it up, "Hello, Maria."

"Hello." I reply back cheerfully, and he stands aside, "The rest of us are still getting ready. Why don't you head upstairs to Ellie's room?"

"Um…which room is it?" I ask, and Tommy points up the stairs. "First door on your right. You…you can't miss it."

"Thanks." I say, walking up the stairs. I get my breathing back, heart pounding in fear of entering at the wrong time, then knock on the door.

"Come on in." Joel calls, his voice muffled by the thick wooden door. I push the knob, stepping into the room.

Ellie glances up, her face breaking out into a smile. Two twin beds rest on either side of the small room, her sitting on one with her arm extended to Joel, who sits on the opposing one. Joel wraps a sterile white bandage over and over her right arm, on the soft white skin on under her arm.

Ellie winces and turns back to face him, "Uh…a little too tight."

"Sorry." He unravels it and goes around it over and over again, making sure not to put too much pressure on it. Then he tapes the edge of the white roll and the piece not yet stuck on and pulls.

The piece comes apart with a snap and Joel smoothes the excess over her arm, giving her a slight smile, "Better?"  
Ellie glances down at her arm, bringing it in before looking him in the eyes and nodding. "Yeah."

"Go on downstairs and get something to eat. We'll be heading out soon." Joel says, and Ellie nods, tying on her shoes before leaping off her bed to me, "Alright. And I can show Maria Callus Jr."

I give a grin as she shoves me out the door before pulling it closed behind her. She's wearing a short-sleeve, and her arms are pale. Probably from wearing long-sleeves so much.

I follow her downstairs, and she glances back at me, "Hungry?"

"No. I had an apple." I reply back, and she nods, slipping into the kitchen. The other Maria sits at the table, and gives a smile to us two,

"Hi, girls. Tommy's just got to grab his boots and then we'll head out."

She sizes up my outfit, then turns back to face me, "Maria…you're okay with getting that dirty?"

I shrug, "Doesn't bother me too much." _She's asking about getting dirty now…geez, what have I been doing to my clothes for the past fourteen years?_

I try not to laugh, and then she turns back at to Ellie, "Got your pack?"

"Yes, Maria…" Ellie says, and Maria raises her eyebrows, "Am I sensing some hostility?"

"Nooo…" Ellie calls back, extending the word as she walks back to get her bag. I grin at this, and Maria gives me a smile, shaking her head, "I swear, that child…"

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
"Joel, can I hop on your back?"

"No."

"Pleeease."

I snicker to myself, and then Joel turns around to face Ellie, "Why don't you ask your new friend, huh?"

"Because…huh." Ellie turns to face me, and she finally takes in mind how tall I am. She's a little over five feet, probably 5 3", and I'm 5 8". Hell yeah.

"Maria, may I hop on your back?" Ellie asks, and I laugh, shrugging, "You've got to hold my pack, though."

So I let Ellie toss on my drawstring, and then I crouch down as she hops on before standing up and holding her legs to my side, "Man, you're light."

"Eh. Joel eats all my food." She says, and then leans to my ear, "Can you run by him?"

I nod, and then I pause, waiting for the three adults to get a good distance ahead of us. Ellie wraps an arm around my neck, and then, "Alright. Go."

I begin running, holding her legs to my sides tightly. As we pass Joel, Ellie ceremoniously flips him off, "Eat my dust, old man!"

I crack up, and Ellie grins, keeping her one arm around my neck. I glance up at her, "So…is Callus Jr. ready to ride?"

"I wish." She slides off my back and hands me my drawstring. Then, gripping the straps on her old backpack, Ellie walks backwards, a grin on her face, "You like horses, Maria?"

I give a sheepish smile, scratching the back of my head and facing the ground, "I…guess."

"You guess? Is that a no?" Ellie pushes on, a teasing smile on her face, and as I catch sight of her eyes, full of happiness, I can't help but shrug, "Oh, I don't know."

Then we pick up the pace to catch up with the adults, and Ellie elbows me, "Tell more of your 'Yo Mama' jokes."

I chuckle, "I'm not sure if I can with this crowd, Ellie…"

Tommy glances back at us, his eyes glinting mischievously, "'Yo Mama' jokes? I haven't told those in ages."

"Tommy, please, act your age." Maria groans, and Tommy holds up a hand to pardon her, "I can't on this front, honey."

Turning his head to face me, he strokes his chin before snapping his fingers and pointing at me, "Yo Mama is so stupid, she got hit by a parked car."

I keep my lips clamped together shut, then let out a snort and finally laugh, "Okay, that was pretty good. Alright, Yo Mama is so fat, she had to put a belt on with a boomerang."

Tommy chuckles at this, and even Ellie's grin grows a bit wider. Then, as he gets ready to tell another, Maria cuts him off, "So, Maria, which quarantine zone are you from?"

"Baltimore. Sector…28, I think?" I offer, and she nods. Ellie nudges me, "Boston. Sector 12."

"How was your zone?" I ask, and Ellie blows a raspberry before replying, "Not the best. They'd cut down any infected on any street corner."  
I pause, thinking back to my zone. The soldiers were friendly to us being children. Mikey was allowed to handle their guns, and they'd let us ride on their horses sometimes.

My mom used to say the soldiers loved me and would always pick me up in the crook of their arm, passing me off to the others. According to family history, of course. I don't remember squat of it, but there's one faded polaroid of me as a toddler, smiling and waving at the camera whilst in the arms of a guard. He gives a smile to the camera as well, dressed in fatigues with a gun slung across his back, and has a hand on Mikey's shoulder, who, at four, is scrawny and beaming.

The soldiers looked out for us. They'd give us extra ration cards and try to sneak us back in line a few times. I once heard it was because we were the only children living in Baltimore, and my mom would repair their guns and make makeshift bombs for them from time to time.

"Maria?"

Ellie's voice brings me back to reality, and I look ahead, seeing the stables coming into view. Joel glances between our faces, then jerks his head in the direction of the stables, "Go get 'em, girls."

Ellie smiles, and then grabs my arm, "C'mon!"

I hear the adults laughing as she hauls me off in a sprint to the stables, my feet almost giving out under me with the speed and velocity as we race down the hill to the flat area of the stables.

"Whoa, there, Eleri. Watch yourself."

A buff dude rolling a wheelbarrow glances our way, giving a stern look to Ellie before breaking out into laughter himself. Ellie points to me, "This is Maria. Maria, this is Todd."

"Hello." I say, reaching forward to shake his hand. He lets mine go after a brief and hard shake, and I resist the urge to wipe my hands on the seat of my shorts.

"Well, then…Maria. That name's…huh."

Ellie turns to me with a smile, "He likes to never call people by their names. Says it's too 'formal'."

As her fingers accentuate the quotes, I try to hide my laughter. Todd looks down at us, squinting an eyeball, "What are ye telling 'bout me, Elberta?"

"Exhibit A." Ellie says, and Todd chuckles. Then he snaps his fingers and points to me, "Marshall, correct?"

"Uh…sure." I say, playing along and giving a shrug. Todd nods, "It's nice to make your acquaintance, Marley."  
Ellie just about bounces from foot to foot in excitement, and finally Todd jerks his thumb over his shoulder, one hand still on the handle of his wheelbarrow, "You know where the stalls are, Elisa. I don't think I need to point them out to you."

Then he nods to me, "I assume you know how to ride, right?"

I shrug, and Todd grins, "It ain't hard. Little Miss Eloise here is a natural. She'll help ya learn."

"Good to know, sir." I say, and then Todd glances over his shoulder as Ellie leads me, "Good luck, Marquise and Eleanor."

Out of earshot, "He's a…character."

Ellie grins, "He's, well…Todd. Can't exactly come up with a good description of him yet."

Then she nudges me, "You really don't know how to ride?"

"It's something I'd rather not go into." I feel my face growing hot as Ellie's grin grows wider, "Oh, really? Do tell. I love when people embarrass themselves."

I step on her toe for a good measure, but she only chuckles and shoves me away. Then I jam my hand in my pockets, hanging my head, "I…uh…fell off a horse."

Ellie stops walking entirely, and I turn back to face her as I keep going backwards, "You did not."

"I did. The soldiers had the saddle adjusted for…them, and they took the reins and walked me around, and I kind of starting slipping to the side, and I tried to hang on…but I fell off."

Ellie glances at me and kind of puts hand up to her mouth. I'd like to believe it was of sympathy, but then I see her eyes twinkling and the corners of her mouth going up, "You're laughing at me."

"Am not." She manages, still grinning and maintaining her composure. Then she blows another raspberry, "I promise you Callus Jr. is not going to scare you."

"You'd be surprised." I say, grinning, and Ellie laughs. It feels good to hear her laughing. It…sounds like she hasn't in a while.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
"He's not going to hurt you." Ellie croons, stroking the pony's head. The horse—pony, okay?—is brown with a black mane and a white stripe running down his face. His—ankles?—are white as well, and his hooves are black (haha! I know 'hooves'!).

I inch closer, and Callus Jr. nickers before rearing on his skinny little legs. I scoot back quickly, "What the hell!"

Ellie has a hand over her mouth, and I narrow my eyes at her, "Okay, laugh."

She does. One bark of laughter before settling for a smug grin and brushing the hairs of his mane out of his face.

"He's young." Ellie coos over him, and I nod, "Seems like it."

Callus Jr. whinnies, a soft noise, and then presses his nose to the pocket of Ellie's shorts. Ellie chuckles and stands back, "Oh, what? You smell something, buddy boy?"

Then she slips her hand in her pocket, the stray piece of hair falling into her face. She looks up, revealing a palm full of sugar crystals and placing them under his nose.

Callus Jr. moves closer, slurping the sugar out of her palm as she strokes his face with care. Then she glances at me as he finishes up the sugar, "Care for some?"

I hold out my hand with uncertainty, and Ellie remarks with a sour face, "Joel would say it's wasteful, but…eh."

To ensure my fear around horses won't scare Callus Jr., Ellie stands by my side, showing with her hand how I had to hold mine flat, "He'll just slurp it up. Go on."

Desperate to prove I'm not a wuss, I inch my hand under his mouth, holding it so flat my fingers are starting to tremble. Callus Jr. gives a snort, then moves to my hand and begins eating the sugar Ellie had given me a few minutes beforehand.

"Horses respond to the way you act." Ellie says, stroking his mane once more. As Callus Jr. finishes up, I retreat my hand back and splay my fingers, shaking out the sticky bits of sugar covered in horse spittle, "Still gross."

Ellie grins, and then jerks her head in the direction of the horse, "He won't bite. Go on."

So I lay a hand on his side, feeling his coat and wiry muscles underneath. His dark eyes are hard to read, but he looks…trusting. Peaceful.

"Hello, Callus Jr." I murmur, in a voice for Ellie not to pick up and in a tone meant for his ears. He nods his head (do horses—ponies, damnit—nod?).

"Is Tommy gonna let you keep him?" I ask, and Ellie shrugs, her green eyes cloudy, "I'm not sure. I hope so, though. Teach him how to ride."

Her eyes twinkle as she smiles, her mind somewhere else, envisioning, "I just imagine him running, galloping full speed with me on his back."

"And I'd be on that slow horse behind you with someone else holding the reins." I remark, and she chuckles.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
"Maria…Joel and I were gonna talk business. Are you okay if he's not leading you?"

I'm sitting atop a white, dopey horse with flies buzzing around her eyes. The top speed is probably five miles an hour.

My face grows hot as I shake my head, "Uh…can he keep the reins?"

Tommy opens his mouth as if to offer it again, then shuts it. Maria and Ellie turn to face back at me, and Joel sighs, "Alright, kiddo."  
So he walks on the ground while I try to steel my nerves on the horse, feeling myself jounce with each step. I laugh at myself in my head. I can't hold a gun, I can't ride a horse…and yet I've survived all this way. Huh.

As we near the descent of a hill, Joel turns around to face me, "Lean back. It helps."

So I do, holding onto the tip of the saddle like it's my lifeline, my last hold onto this world. Maria and Ellie strike up a conversation, and occasionally glance back at me to make sure I haven't slide off the horse going at top speed.

We near part of the 'riding course', which is just some flat land. Joel stops my horse as Ellie and Maria pull up to a stop.

"Can you gallop?" Ellie asks the blonde, who gives a chuckle, "Every time we come, you ask that. Just this once, alright?"

"Bring Maria along, too." She says, pointing to me, and my palms go up in a flash for truce, "No, no, I'm good."

"You ain't ever lived until you've ridden a galloping horse." Maria smiles at me, and I shake my head, "I'm fine. Really. But thanks."

"Ellie, why don't you try and gallop?" Joel suggests, and she turns back to face Maria, "I give this dude a squeeze, right?"

"Right. Tips of your sneakers. Don't spook him." Maria nods, and Ellie trots out on her horse, going a good distance away from us. Then she gives a wave before leaning down on the neck of her horse, holding the reins and giving a gentle nudge, and then they're off.

They go fast, horse and rider as one, and I catch Ellie's face, full of confidence with a cocky and satisfied smile on. I see the horse's muscles rippling under his wiry coat as his hooves clop the ground and send clumps of mud and dirt up into the air. As Ellie rounds the corner to catch back up to us, Maria and Joel turn their attention to me.

"Any reason you're not interested in horses?" Maria asks, and I hang my head, "I…uh—"

"She fell off a horse."

I give a look to Ellie , who seems pleased at my reaction. Joel shrugs at me, "I promise you, it ain't bad to get back up in the saddle again. And, like Maria said, it sure is fun."

I let out a breath, hoping it doesn't come out in a huffiness, and then muster up a sheepish grin, "Horses…just don't do it for me."

"You're gonna change your mind when I take you on Callus Jr." Ellie says, and Joel turns back to her, "Now, Ellie—"

But she's already smiling and laughing and making plans for her beloved horse. I smile, and then Maria trots away on her horse, "One more gallop, Ellie."

"F—k yeah!" Ellie pumps a victory fist, and Joel lets out a breath, "Watch your language."

"Yeah, yeah." She dismisses him, and I turn to face Maria as she trots away, directing my question to either Joel or Ellie, "Is she going to do anything special?"

"Used to compete in barrel racing as a teen." Joel fills in, and he takes note of my confusion and goes on, "You ride a horse as fast as you can without wiping out around barrels."

"Ah. Okay." I give a nod, and then Maria shoots off on her horse, pulling the reins and directing him around imaginary obstacles, keeping her balance as he swivels this way and that.

"I'd like to barrel race." Ellie notes, and Joel chuckles, "Over my dead body you will."

"Lots of injuries?" I ask, and Joel whistles, nodding and crossing his arms over his chest, "Oh yeah. Especially for a beginner." He gives a look to Ellie, who dismisses him by blowing a raspberry.

As Maria comes back to our little group, Ellie gives me a nudge as our two horses stand side-by-side, "Gonna have Joel take the reins?"

I'd like to respond cocky and confident and gallop away, only to have Joel take the reins before I can say anything else. Ellie chuckles by holding up a hand to her mouth and I redden.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
We eat a lunch of sorts back at the stables. Ellie and I take spots on the ground, leaning against the worn wooden posts and munching on granola bars, apples, strawberries, and a few rare pieces of cheese from the dairy Todd's running on the side.

It's hard to describe cheese. It's not exactly bitter, but it's got a zip to it. And it's not quite sweet, either.

Wiping the juice pooling at my chin from an apple, I give a look to Ellie as she runs her hand over her bandaged arm, "When's your arm going to be better?"

She shrugs, her eyes distant and clouded over, "Don't know."

"Did Dr. Mundell say anything?" She's living in the same house as his daughter. I'd be surprised to hear a 'no'.

Ellie twists her mouth, "Um…scarring. And to keep it, uh, clean."

I nod, and take a sip from my water bottle. Ellie glances over, and she offers her arm out to me, "Can I have some?"

"Sure." I say, then move the bottle and watch the water swish around, "Not much…here. You can finish it."

Ellie nods, taking the bottle, "Thanks." She unscrews the lid and tilts back the plastic, and then hands it back to me—"Maria?"

"Yeah?" I call back, glancing at Joel as he suddenly raises from the table, his face ashen with panic before dissolving into his usual poker face, "Rinse that out. Ellie's just coming over a cold."

"I am n—," Ellie begins indignantly before catching Joel's eye and suddenly coughing till her face is red. I raise my eyebrows, "Sounds like a nasty cold."

"Yeah." She says, and then grins at me, "Wish you had more of that water with you now."

"I'd offer it…but you finished it up." I slip the empty bottle into my drawstring, remembering to wash it out when I get home.

"So…how was the Triple Phoenix game?" Ellie asks, and I give a cough, trying to hide my sheepishness, "Well…I wasn't able to play it."

"I thought you had the system…" She drifts off, and I shake my head, "Nah. My brother lent it to his friend for a bit."

"Bummer." Ellie says, and then, "So, what else do you guys do for fun around here?"

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
"Stefano? Diego?"

My calls ricochet off the empty walls of their house, and I take a few steps in, Mikey right behind me.  
"Stef—" "WE HEAR YOU, MARIA!"

I grin at Diego's voice and the lingering accent. Stefano and Diego are brothers and some of our closest friends. Their father actually knew ours, and we suffered through some of the same pain. Just as they have to survive the apocalypse without their mom, we do it without our dad.

They are trilingual, knowing Spanish, Dutch, and English. To tick Mikey and me and some of our friends off, they whisper bad things about us in Dutch and then say nothing when we try to ask them what they had said.

Stefano is three years older than Diego, and one of my partners-in-crime. I get him into my fandoms and we talk about them (read: me fangirl while he looks on), trying to figure out what would have happened if they had continued them.

Diego comes first, and then Stefano, who eyes us. He's the same height as Diego, which kind of ticks him off as he's a year older than me and three years older than him…and yet five inches shorter than me.

"We need your help getting the boat." Mikey says, and Diego breaks out in a grin, "Yes!"

"Let us change first. And then we'll be right out." The two dash back to their bedroom and I walk out the front door with Mikey. On the topic of bathing suits, we don't…have them. So I'm wearing a t-shirt and shorts while Mikey just wears a pair of shorts.

In a few minutes they reappear, and we head off down the street to get the other kids.  
To make introducing quick, I'll put up a few kids:

-Meagan, who is a year older than Mikey, blonde, and skinny.

-Haley, who around my age and black. (Not to be racist. Hey, Stefano and Diego look Mexican!).

-Avery, who is Mikey's age and one of his closest friends.

-Myles, who is my age and hangs out with Mikey and Avery.

-Matt and Bella, twins who are Mikey's age.

-Jamie, who is seven and one of the sweetest little girls you'll ever meet.

-Abel, who shows everyone up in school and pisses them off like no one else (ginger). He's my age with a lisp and a brain for knowledge.

There are a lot more kids around here, but here are some to get you started with. I wouldn't want to overwhelm you.

Avery and Meagan are the only ones free. Mikey takes them to the pond to help get the boat ready, and I have other plans.

"I'll get Ellie and catch you guys by the pond." I say over my shoulder, and Mikey gives a nod to me as I run off.  
Knocking on the door, I steel my nerves, only to see Ellie open the door, "Hi."

"Hey. Some kids are going on the boat, and I was wondering if you'd like to come with us."

Ellie looks at me quizzically, "A…boat?"

I nod, "Yeah. A boat. Water. Swimming. All that fun stuff."

She pauses, and then, "What should I wear?"

I give a shrug, smiling, "A shirt or shorts. Anything that you don't mind getting wet, really."

Her arm is still bandaged by her side, and I gesture to her clothes, "What you're wearing now is fine."

She nods, but acts as if she's in a trance. I put my palms up in a truce, "Hey, no wrong answer. You can swim with us or not."

Ellie takes this into consideration, and then disappears back into the house, "Let me ask Joel, and then I'll be back."

I nod and take a seat on the steps, watching a few kids from aside the street push out a tricycle. It's missing a wheel and one of the saddest things I've seen, but they have these big grins on their faces like they've won the lottery with it.

Someone else, an older sibling, perhaps, rolls out a bicycle and the kids crowd around him. He gets the pick of the litter and puts a sandy-haired boy on his shoulders before riding off on the bike.

The little boy gets a big kick out of it, and the older one only smiles as he rides around for a bit.

The door shutting behind me jostles me back into reality as I jump, and Ellie emerges with a towel over her shoulder, "Okay, I'm ready."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
"We have to swim out there?"

Her voice almost makes me laugh, the shrillness of it. I nod, "Yeah. A few feet. It's not that bad."

Ellie nods but looks unsure. Her eyes shine with fear, and as we ditch our shoes on the sandy bank, I give her a smile, "It's not bad. Water's kind of cold, but it feels good with the heat."

The heat is awful here in July. I feel it in the small of my back after a few minutes outside, beads of sweat trailing down and pooling at the waistband of my shorts, making my clothes stick to me like a second skin. I have no doubt that my cheeks are already red.

The boat is a little sailboat, probably twelve feet or so long and a few feet wide. Once upon a time, it had a sail, but now it's ruined, so we tie it to a cinder block with a long rope and let it float in the middle of the pond. On days like these we'll lounge around it, sitting or jumping off or pushing each other off. Diego knows how to do a front flip and Avery knows how to dive, so we give them scores to pass time.

As I leave my shoes on the sandy bank, I glance back at Ellie, "You alright?"

She swallows hard, then nods, "Y—yeah, I'm fine."

Her fearfulness isn't something I'm used to over the course of these few days, and I try to be reassuring, "It's not too bad. Promise."  
I wade into the shallow water, wary to not lose my footing on the slick and mossy stones, then turn around to face her, "C'mon."

Ellie sucks in a deep breath, then lets her foot rest on a rock in the water, quickly drawing back, "It is f—kin' cold!"

I can't help but laugh and take her arm, "Let's go, Ellie."

She seems reluctant but follows my footsteps over the rocks. The water slips up to our waists and she sucks in another breath, "Um, Maria?"

I take another step, arms out for balance, waiting until we hit the sandy bottom, "Yeah?"

"Can I, uh, hop on your back?"

_Classy. _I think to myself, and then I crouch down, hissing as the water hits my stomach and soaks up to my chest, "Sure."

Ellie hops onto my back, and I secure her legs to my side, glancing back, "Hold your breath."

I take a bit of a running start…well, as much as you can in water, and then jump in as the ground seems to disappear beneath my feet.

Ellie wraps her arms around my neck, and I focus on moving my arms and legs until I reach the surface.

"We reach the boat. Land-ho, boys." I say, and Ellie finally opens her eyes. I grip the edges of the slick sides and she crawls onto the surface. I wait until she's situated, and then do the same myself. Odd pieces of plastic stick out, which feel awful if you lean against them the wrong way.

"Doing a flip!" Diego cries out, and the boat rocks and lurches as he pushes off the side, doing a full rotation before hitting the water and sending up a splash.

I give him a thumbs up before returning back to Ellie, seeing her sitting with her legs crossed and her fingers curling around the sides, "You alright?"

"Yeah. I'd just…prefer to not get wet." Drips of water plop off the edges of her hair and she uses one finger to push the stray hairs behind her ears.

"Boat might move a bit. But you're fine." I say, and then I turn back to face everyone. The boys strike up a conversation, including Meagan, and Ellie and I sit cross-legged near the tip of the boat, swaying with each motion of the breeze. A bird caws somewhere up in the trees surrounding the pond, and I lean back on my hands.

"It doesn't feel right." Ellie finally says, and I nod, "Yeah. After years on the run, relaxing doesn't feel…normal."

Then I let my head loll back, facing the sun and smiling as the sun warms my face, "But it sure beats having the fear of a clicker come and get you."

After a few minutes of soaking the rays, Diego glances our way, "Hey, Maria, aren't you gonna swim?"

"In a bit, young cricket." I say, giving a sideways glance to Ellie and seeing her face. Does she have a fear of water that I don't know about?

Meagan gives me a smile, "Aren't you hot?"

"I'll go in in a second." I say agreeably, and all the guys exchange a smile. I move to let my legs dangle over the edge of the boat and move in the water, swishing them back and forth and watching the ripples carry through the water.

Before I know it, Mikey, Avery, Diego, and Stefano jump off one side of the boat, leaving the three of us girls on the opposing side and sending a jolt that almost flips us over. I slip into the water, hearing Ellie give something like a whimper as she tries to hold on, "Ellie!"

_Dangit, dangit, dangit…_My thoughts come out as rapid fire, opening my eyes under water and catching sight of her struggling, moving and thrashing her arms and legs, her cheeks puffed out with air to try and keep herself alive for one more second. She's not swimming, she's panicking, sinking, drowning…

I place an arm around her middle and hoist her up with a boost, hoping she'll be able to grab onto the boat. And she does, and I finally crawl on myself, watching as Meagan and everyone else does the same.

Diego's beaming, a charming smile, but I glance at Ellie's stricken state and I don't feel the same way. Angling myself and balancing on a foot and two arms, I give him a kick to send him back into the water, "Idiot."

Mikey raises his eyebrows at me, but I don't have time to worry about what he thinks about me as his little sister kicking people off the boat.

I turn back to face Ellie, laying a hand on her shoulder and feel her shaking under my touch, "Ellie?"

She gazes up at me, and the raw intensity of fear in her green eyes shocks me. I drop my voice down a tone, "Just breathe, alright? In, out, in, out…"

It's stupid, but it works. She closes her eyes, squeezing them shut as if to dispel something more, and then she opens them, blinking hard. Turning to face me with a sheepish smile, "I'm not a big fan of the water."

"It shows." I say, and then drop my voice down a notch, "Do you…y'know, want to head back?"

"I can tough it out." She says, and I hear the tiredness in her voice. Then I nod, "Alright, then."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
"Ellie? You're soaking wet."

"Thanks, Joel."

Joel gives me a look as she walks past him, not even giving a goodbye to me. I give a shrug and Joel steps out onto the porch, his curious look growing into something like a glare, "Maria?"

"Yes?"

"Did you take Ellie…what exactly did you do?"

I shrug, tightening the synthetic strings on my drawstring and avoiding his eyes, "We went swimming in the ponds with some of the neighborhood kids. Just…wait."

I bring my eyebrows together in curiosity, "She told me…I thought you heard from her before we left."

Joel puts his hand to his chin and sighs, as if trying to decide which issue to address first, glancing around before finally resting on my eyes, "Maria…Ellie…she can't, uh…swim."

"Explains a lot." I say with a shrug, and Joel motions for me to sit on the step beside him. Then he looks over at me, "So…how'd you manage?"

"Swam with her on my back." I say, and Joel chuckles. Gazing out, "I did it with a pallet when we were travelling."

"Maybe Tommy can leave a spare at the pond for us." I say, and Joel pauses, stroking his scruffy beard thing before shaking his head and dropping his hands to his knees, "Nah. I promised Ellie I'd teach her."

As if an afterthought hinting with a tone of amusement, "I _also _promised I'd teach her how to play a six-string as well. But I've yet to find one that isn't completely busted…and get the time with Tommy at the dam and all."

"I can help you look." I say, and Joel eyes me with something glinting in his eyes, "Why would you?"

I shrug, let my wrists hang off my knees and my fingers dangle, "You and Ellie are a dynamic duo together."

The words sound right, and Joel laughs. I go on with a smile, "I guess…it's a nice thing. And I like nice things."

"Maybe surprise her." Joel says, stroking his chin and deep in thought. I start to stroke my own, a habit my mom hates because I don't have facial hair, "Her birthday is coming up. At least…that's what Maria said."

I push a stray hair behind my ear before grinning to him, "Surprise her on her birthday. I'll help you look to find a guitar."

Joel nods, and then he gives a smile to me, a real one, honest and true and straight to the core of who he is as a person, and ruffles my hair, "You're a good kid, Maria."

"I try." I say back earnestly, and then hold up my fist, "Pound it!"

Joel groans good-naturedly, and I laugh. "Ellie already makes me high-five…okay, kiddo. Fine. But just this once."

So we pound fists and draw back, making 'whooshing' sounds and splaying our fingers. As I grin and pull my hand back in, I can't help but think about everything that's going down in my life, and then I hear the sirens go off.

"Bandit attack."


	5. Ellie's Badassery

"Attack?" I turn to face him incredulously, and Joel curses before getting onto his feet, "Maria, head back to your home. _Now._"

"I can help. What needs to be done?" I ask, determination suddenly grasping hold in my mind, standing up, and I'm almost reaching his shoulders with my height. Joel frowns, looking troubled at his decision to push me away, "This ain't a situation for kids. Go inside with Ellie."

That's futile, because I hear the front door slamming behind us with a tremble underneath our feet, and turn to face Ellie as she questions Joel, "Attack?"

Joel nods, bringing a hand up to his chin with his eyes looking cloudy, and Ellie runs back inside to grab something. Then Joel lays a hand on my shoulder, his eyes pleading almost, "Just head home, Maria."

I shrug out of his grasp, and as Ellie comes back outside with another jolting door slam, "Ellie, lead Maria back home. I'm gonna go head to the towers."

Joel pauses, opening his mouth as if to say more, but thinks better of it and sprints away. Ellie comes by my side as we watch him go.

"Doesn't he need his guns?" I ask, thinking about methods of fighting, and in a few seconds Joel reappears, racing up the steps and back into the house, "Forgot my pack."

We watch him leave once more, and then Ellie cocks her head at me, her face poker-ready, "Do you really want to go home?"

I shake my head, getting that determined feeling again, "No way."  
_  
You can't shoot a gun for squat. _I think back to myself, but quickly shove it back down to the depths of my mind. Ellie nods, and then hands me a small pistol after a moment's hesitation,

"Here. It should do the trick."

"Thanks." I say, pulling the cool metal back and checking to see the bullet count. Five bullets, like little eggs in a nest. Translating into five lives.

And then Ellie races off, taking my wrist and hauling me along as we sprint to the towers and the entrance. My heart pounds in my chest and I feel the bloods ricocheting around in my brain, mouth suddenly turning dry as the situation's reality comes crashing down.

We run by graphic scenes the closer we get to the power plant, bodies suddenly cropping up, spurts of blood following instantly after a crack of a gun shot. I won't describe them, because I'll prefer not to spread nightmares. They make me sick to my stomach, fear telling off the experience of all the other dead I had once seen in my travels.

Ellie and I head to the powerplant, where the bandits typically come for a shot at taking over the electricity source. Tommy had stabilized it with other men a few months back, given the struggling mess it was beforehand, and the bandits are drawn to it like moths to a flame. Security's tighter now, and I remember being interrogated a while back, making sure my mom and brother weren't about to try and take over.

I let my thoughts dispel as I bring myself back to living in the now, the reality we're in and facing, and as we climb the rickety steps, "Ell—!"

My voice is caught off in a chokehold, and my face feels hot in the struggle. I try to bring up my arms, to try and get a shot at wrenching his arm away, but without that delicate balance of oxygen going through me, it's futile. Ellie turns to face me, and I know her mind is racing, trained to see the situation and solve it like how we were taught on the run, "Your gun!"

But I can't muster the strength to get it from my pocket, making gargled noises as I fight to breath. Ellie gives something like a sigh, and I smell the sour breath radiating heat on me as I squirm and try to struggle away.

With something like a tired face, she lifts up her own pistol with two hands and pulls the trigger, and finally I can breathe easy. Blood coats the side of my face as the once-standing corpse drops dead at my feet, and I spit for a good measure.

"What the hell was that?!"

She's angry, fuming, and I see her lime eyes lighting up in rage. I get even, "Why didn't you shoot him in the first place?"

"Because…y'know what? I'm done. C'mon." She grabs my wrist and I worm free, not about to be lead around like a child from a person I basically tower over.

Tenseness is in the air, and Ellie and I run across the metal grates, which overlook the mess of fighting. I can't help my head turning, and watching the scene unfold with gunshots and cries piercing the once silent air. Every few seconds a flash from a gun goes off, and I remember my mom telling me as a small child _fireworks, fireworks, they're just fighting with fireworks._

Still don't know what the hell fireworks are,

I think to myself, letting my mind's endless whirling take me away, my thoughts drifting aimlessly as I trail after Ellie, hearing the bullets and cries going off, off, off...but why can't I bring myself to shot the damn gun?

Ellie and I ram our shoulders into the door leading to the plant, taking a few steps inside. My ears hurt from all the garbled shouts and sparks rain down from the shaking lights as they clash against one another. I refuse the urge to put my hands over my ears and head to protect myself as time seems to slow down.

We run across the metal plates, feeling the tremors of fighting through the rubber soles of our shoes, sprinting for the stairs that lead to the headquarters. Our flight isn't conspicuous, and I can already sense the heads turning in our arrival, sparks bouncing around us like a flare saying something along the lines of _hey, get yer asses over here_.

"Run, run, run!" Ellie cries out, as if I need more encouraging. She turns the cool metal knob and we head into the headquarters, turning quick to instantly slam the door, locking it and hoping it stays. Ellie takes the gun out of my back pocket and steps away, leaving me as the weight, "Hey!"

She runs to the motherboard, flipping open the control box. I raise my eyebrows, "What are you doing?"

Turning and snapping switches on this way and that, Ellie seems completely in control, as if she's in her own little world. After a few good moments of silence and registering my question, she finally glances my way as if remembering that I'm here, "Tommy told me to shut off the power in these situations. So if those damn bandits do overrun us, they won't know the controls to press."

"Smart man." I mutter, and Ellie takes out a few booklets, ripping out a few pages (I suppose not at random), and stuffing them under her shirt. Then she tosses them back in the drawer, slamming it shut and syncing it with the sound of the men suddenly pounding at the door, screaming obscenities at us.

"Ellie..." My tone comes out as a whimper as the realization suddenly dawns on me that I'm the dam, holding back the water that's aching to drown us. Ellie roots through other drawers, and I press myself against the door. Being tall has its advantages, but even I know that it's only a matter of time.

She doesn't respond, doesn't say anything, and I can't help but tremble as the glass breaks above my head, sending shards raining on my neck and shoulders. I bow my head, but I feel the cool barrel of a gun pressing into the soft flesh of the bump connecting my cranium to my spine, "Make a move and you're f—king dead!"

He grabs my collar, hauling me back against the metal door and slamming my spine into it, sending more shards slipping around me. I feel the crunch under the wore toes of my sneakers, and I try so hard to breathe faced against the fabric tight around my nek.

"You! You little girl! Stay right there!" The man barks, and I have a feeling he's been elected leader from the pack hungry to invade the headquarters. Ellie turns innocently, managing another excellent poker face, "Oh, me?"

"Yes, you." He growls menacingly, and I hear the shards clinking as he runs his arm over the rough shards and cursing as they cut his jacket. I feel the sharp edges digging into the back of my neck, and I can barely keep myself calm, knowing if I pull anything he'll pull the trigger or slice my neck on whatever glass remains from the window.

I see the gun move into my vision, his rough knuckles pressing at my neck as his fingers continue curling into the fabric of my shirt. He holds the gun out in front of me, pointing it directly at Ellie, "You stay still, you little shit."

I can see his hand tremble, fighting to keep the balance of letting his finger rest on the trigger while the others stay on the handle. The trembling is from ferocity, anger, a hunger at keeping power by letting the barrel point to me or her.

Ellie only chuckles and walks the length of the room, moving her hands over the edges of the tables and chairs where she had once sat and talked about playing 'Triple Phoenix'...a moment that seems so far from where we are now. The gun shakes in view, and the man's voice again, "What did I tell you, damnit!"

His voice rises, and Ellie finally looks up, her green eyes glinting dangerously, "They say a man is only worth half the shits of the promises and threats he makes...if that's true...than you are off to an _awful _start."

My neck scrapes against the glass as I'm pulled up, balancing on the tips of my toes to breathe. I let something out like a gasp, maybe a warning for Ellie, my face feeling hot with no air, like _get the hell on with it, you ass!_

Ellie gives me a look, hard to read with her lime eyes turning murky all of a sudden, and in a nod so slight and so hard to pick up I understand that she knows what she's doing.

Then in movements so quick, she picks up a spare pipe and sprints, the gun trembles in front of my vision and I'm pulled back into the window and I'm crying out as Ellie finally gets close enough, closing the distance and gripping the pipe so tight until she's finally connecting it with his head with such ferocity as she cries out, "Chickenshit!"

The grip releases from my shirt, and I go down on the glass. Ellie breathes hard, then slinks down to meet me at arm level, "You alright?"

I gulp for air but nod, feeling the heat on my face now after all that time struggling to breathe. Ellie pauses, glancing at her shoes, and then we hear a click from the lock at the door, "Oh, _shit._"

Nothing like before as crap hits the fan and the door goes flying back, giving me enough time to scramble away on shards of glass digging into the soft flesh of my palms and tearing them. The wooden door catches on my ankle and I bite my lip, tasting blood as tears threaten to spill out from the corners of my eyes, pain suddenly erupting as the cool air comes onto the open wound.

Four bandits enter the room, guns loaded, cocked and ready, their faces dirty and drawn as if they're just as tired of fighting as we are (okay, shut up, I know I've been choking and all, but I'm assuming all of Ellie's badassery applies to both of us).

They don't notice us in the corner, surveying the area and the control panel, the papers scattered around, and then Ellie makes a move on glass that clinks and it all goes down.

Instantly four guns are trained on us, one of them speaking up in a raspy voice, "Who're you?"

"Gotta be someone's kids. Good for ransom." One says, the two exchanging a nod for having the same sick ideas, and then Ellie speaks up, in a voice that slowly lowers as she goes on, "We're no one's kids."

"Maybe you know the control box, huh?" Raspy-Voice goes on, and Ellie glances over, as if finally taking note of what they're going for, then shrugs, "If a kid like me can control it, how come four grown men can't?"

Before her or I can react two of the goonies grab her by the crook of her elbow and shoves her up against the wall as she kicks and struggles, "Let go!"

Raspy-Voice and his other friend come over to me, "I'm guessing you're not going to be such a smartass as your friend. C'mon, now. Get up."

Raspy-Voice grabs my elbow, pulling me out of the shards as they dribble off of me like water. I give out a cry to my ankle as it pulls free, but I'm in too much shock to feel the pain.

I feel the slickness of my hands from the blood, and Raspy-Voice shoves me to the box, "Kid, let's go. Gotta be as smart as your accomplice says, right?"

So there I am, sweating and wiping my bloody hands on the sides of my pants, knowing this is way worse than when one of your professors calls on you unexpectedly and you know you're so screwed...I try to remember what Ellie pushed and pulled and flipped and switched, stalling for as long as I can until I finally raise my hands to the control box, fingers trembling—"Maria!"

"Shut up!" One of them roars, giving her a knee to the stomach. She gives something like a gasp for his effort, but it doesn't mask the crinkling of paper.

"Hold her." Raspy-Voice shoves me to his other friend, who takes my wrists and pulls them behind my back, squeezing them as if taunting and saying _Don't screw up...you have no idea what I'm capable of._

"What do we have here, huh?" Raspy-Voice croons, and Ellie grits her teeth, staring him down despite her height, "Nothing."

"Doesn't seem like it, little one." He says, and something else flashes in Ellie's face as he pulls up her shirt in one swift movement, the papers scattering across the floor. I see her stomach already growing red from the kick, and she looks...helpless, gazing back up at his face, like a child caught stealing an extra ration card.

_The perfect setup, _I think, not about to threaten the situation with a smile across my face. Raspy-Voice gives her a look of disgust, giving a knee to the stomach and smirking as she doubles over.

As he comes back to me, papers in hand, the confidence is suddenly out from before, and fear digs its way out from the depths of my mind where I shoved it beforehand.

"Now you have the instructions. No excuses." He shoves the papers to my chest as my wrists as freed, and I resist the urge to bitch-slap him across the face as a smugness descends onto his face.

I glance down at the papers, ears buzzing, raising a trembling hand, fingers almost closing in on themselves as I bring them closer to the panel, and then I hear a sort of _snap, _like the inevitable _crack _of a gunshot echoing in the small space.

Ellie wrenches her elbow free from the one guard who cries out in pain, obviously the gunshot inflicted on him in some way, before training her eyes on the other guard and shooting him straight in the neck. He falls to the ground, letting loose gargles as he chokes on his own blood, and she finishes the job on the one who's still going a wound to the foot.

"Stay the f—k away from her." Ellie says, her voice an odd mixture of confidence and coolness, completely in control once more as she turns to face us with the barrel, finger slowly coming to rest on the trigger. I recognize with a start that it's the gun she let me...ah, _borrow_.

Raspy-Voice chuckles, then croons as he suddenly pulls the gun off from the strap around his middle, "I don't think you're at liberty to say that, little one."

With reflexives quick, she turns to face the accomplice, and he quickly grabs me as a shield, but a second too late as Ellie pulls back the trigger and I go down once more. Raspy-Voice looks up in surprise, and Ellie manages to show her smirking face to me with a smug tone, "Sweet dreams, creep."

With a gunshot to boot, she steps over Raspy-Voice, pulling me up from when I went down with his friend, "You alright?"

I can't stop shaking, and Ellie and I take a step around their bodies, "Shit!"

I collapse with my ankle, the adrenaline and shock fading away and leaving me to feel it throb as I see where the skin peeled back and torn to the door attack. It's already growing red, and I don't know if it's sprained or broken or what.

Maybe it's my ankle that gets me going, or something more, but I can't help a tear from coming down my face. I hide it from Ellie as best I can, until she finally crouches down beside me and gives me a weak smile, "Hurts like a sonuvabitch, I guess. "

I give a shrug, a smile as watery as the tear coming out of my eye, and Ellie wraps her arms around me, giving me a hug, "It _was_ pretty scary, huh?"

I nod into her shoulder, then I pull away from her embrace, wiping my eyes, "Damn, I am so..._useless._"

"Can't argue with that." Ellie retaliates, and I give her a shove as she laughs. It feels weird to be sitting in a room where four fresh corpses are festering, but I can't move with my ankle.

"So, you can't shoot a gun, you can't ride horses...damnit, Maria, what the hell am I gonna do?"

I can tell she's teasing and I smile for real, and then, "Are you ever going to pull your shirt down?"

She blinks in surprise, glancing down at her belly button before taking the fabric and covering it, "Wow...then. I really need to tan, don't I?"

"Didn't those kicks hurt?" I go on, curious as I recall her face contorting in pain, and Ellie grins, shrugging, "They hurt like a slap, or a rug-burn. Man, I hate those."

Our peace only lasts for a second before Joel and Tommy burst through the door, "What the hell—Ellie!"

His tone is first surprise as he looms over us, then quickly fades to anger as I see him clenching his teeth. Tommy follows, and proceeds to whistle, "You certainly did one helluva job, girls."

"I told you to bring her home." Joel goes on in a cold tone, and Ellie narrows her eyebrows, her words like venom, "Big deal. I _lied, _Joel. Like so many of us."

I see something microscopic in his position change, a flash of something else in his eyes, but he quickly smoothes it over, "What'd you do?"

"What Tommy told me to." She goes on, and Tommy crosses over the bodies of the bandits, observing the control box, "Well, you sure remembered it well."

He clicks and flips more of the switches and then presses his palm on a flat button on the bottom. The lights stay on in the plant, and I hear the engines grinding as they start up again.

"Oh, almost forgot." Ellie grabs the papers from the floor and hands them to him, "Here. I'm thinking about hiding them somewhere else. Bandits heard them when they gave me a knee to the gut."

Tommy takes them from her, closing them back into the drawer before turning and walking back to us to loom like Joel does already. I suddenly feel very, very small under their withering gazes.

"Let's get on outta here, Ellie. I got half a mind to really tell you off." Joel growls, and Ellie blows a raspberry. She rises, and then offers her arm to me. I forget momentarily about my ankle, but as soon as I roll onto my feet, "Ah...ow, ow, ow!"

"Oh, damn. Here." She lets me loop an arm around her shoulders, and Tommy eyes us, "What happened?"

"Don't know." Ellie replies over her shoulder, and Joel comes to my other side, looping my arm over his shoulder and holding it tight, "Let's have the doc take a look at it."

So we walk away, leaving five bandits dead, a few books ruined, and six well used bullets.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
"Alright, set her down easy. Easy...easy...good." Dr. Mundell directs as Ellie and Joel help me hobble into one of the beds in the medical building. That sounds way more professional than it really is. The hospital is small, with a few separate rooms and limited supplies.

The bed is lumpy underneath its standard fleece blanket, and Dr. Mundell takes a seat in a spinning office chair, rolling over to where I am, "What seems to be the problem?"

"Uh...my ankle." I reply back, and he nods and rolls down to where my ankle rests on the bed. With quick and nimble fingers, he unties my shoe and then glances back at me, "I'm just going to try and slip it off, alright? Breathe easy now...it may hurt. But don't move your foot."

I nod and suck in a raspy breath as he grips the heel and attempts to pull it off, sending a wave of pain up my leg. My fingers tremble and I place them in the fleece, curling them around in the fabric. I shake with the desire to move, to disperse the pain, to try and do something than just sit there and let it envelope me.

I bring my hands back, seeing the blood and slices, "Also...my hands. Hands are hurting, too."

Dr. Mundell eyes them as I hold them out, palms flat, and then takes a damp rag and wipes them down. I try not to wince, and he gets a better look at the cuts, "Not too deep...no glass from what I can see. Keep them wrapped, though."

He spreads some sort of paste over them and then wraps them with white tape, tearing it off and smoothing the excess over my palms.

"I look like a badass with my hands like this." I say, grinning up at Joel and Ellie. Ellie gives a grin while Joel gives something like a scoff and glances around.

"One, two, three...okay." The shoes wrenches free and I suck in a quick breath. Dr. Mundell holds it up, and I can't help myself from cracking my toes, "Sorry."

He gives me a look, and then Tommy pipes up, "Doesn't that cause arthritis?"

"No, Thomas. It is the air bubbles in the joints snapping." Dr. Mundell corrects, and he turns back to give a look to me, "I'm going to feel for loose bones, alright? This may hurt a bit."

_Everything you do 'may hurt a bit'. _I think, but don't say anything. Dr. Mundell presses on my ankle, declares it simply sprained and/or chipped, wraps it with gauze and tape and then straps a rag filled with ice to it, "Keep off as much as you can, alright?"

I nod, and then he returns with a pair of crutches, my ankle hurting more after the diagnosis, "These could be the only in town. Your ankle should be healed up soon, and when it is, it would be wonderful if you could return with these."

"Got it." I reply back, tossing my spare shoe and sock into my drawstring and leaning heavily on Ellie to get up from the bed. Dr. Mundell hands me the crutches and I slide them under my shoulders, getting used to the feel of my hands on the hollow aluminum before turning back to face everyone, "My mom's probably freaking out right now. Thank you, Dr. Mundell, for looking at my ankle."

He returns my wave, and then raises an eyebrow at me, "Keep it iced, Mo. Best way for it to heal."

"Thanks, Doc." Joel says casually, holding the door open for me. We don't even get a solid five feet out the door before Ellie goes, "Can I try those?"

"Ellie..." Joel begins in a grave tone, and I shrug, sliding them out from my armpits and handing them to her, "Sure."

I hobble along, Joel and Tommy taking pity on me and letting me walk between them. Ellie has fun pretending to be an athlete, pushing herself great distances in the cool hallway, "Yah!"

She finally returns them back to me, grinning, "They're fun."

"Wish you had a pair?" Joel teases, ruffing her hair, and Ellie sticks out her tongue, "Hell no. I'll just steal...what was the name Doc gave you?"

"Mo." I reply back, and Ellie shrugs, "I'll just steal Mo's pair."

"Where the hell did he get that name from?" I ask, glancing between Joel and Tommy's faces. Tommy shrugs, "Hell if I know."

They walk behind me and Ellie, and at a safe distance away, "Thanks for, uh, saving my ass back there."

Ellie's quiet, just soaking in my words, before finally grinning and turning to face me with one hand cupped around her ear, "Excuse me, what was that? Please repeat."

I shove her as she laughs, grinning myself. And as we exit the hospital, envelope in the golden light from the sunset, I wish for two things: for Mom not to kill me when I get home, and to steal back the xBox to play Triple Phoenix with Ellie and Mikey.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)  
"Why does the word 'underwear' sound fine, but the word 'panties' sound so...kinky?"

I present to you day one of me being MIA...or, I suppose, OOA(out-of-action). Ellie had come over in the morning, and the two of us had been sitting around awkwardly until I asked the said question stated above.

Ellie gives me a look, "Are you really asking me this question?"

I nod, and she pauses, obviously thinking hard. Then she shrugs, twisting her mouth to the peculiar little smile she often bears, "I suppose it depends on what comes to mind first. Without thinking, I usually say 'underwear'."

"Why isn't there a kinky way of say 'socks'?" I go on, curious, and Ellie groans, burying her head in her hands, "You have way too much time to think about things."

"I'm serious. There is legitimately no kinky way of saying 'socks'." I say, and then continue, "You can't say the word 'socks' in a kinky manner."

"Why do you even _want _to say socks in a kinky manner?" Ellie asks, raising her eyebrows at me, and I shrug, "I think if underwear can go sexy by calling it 'panties', then socks _should _have the same change."

"Panty-hose?" Ellie offers weakly, and I shrug, "I guess that'll have to do for now."

But I can't let it go, "We _should_ find a kinky way to say socks."

Ellie groans and I grin. Then she leans back, putting her feet up on the worn crate-that-serves-as-a-coffee-table, "Sweet digs you got here. Especially the ping-pong table."

"We don't have paddles or balls...but...yeah. Nice feature. I'm going to kick your butt at it when I can actually walk again." I say, and Ellie whistles, letting her head loll back and eyeing the ceiling, "When I came here last year, Tommy was struggling with power."

"Progress. It took them a while to repair some of the engines, and a few good rainstorms." I'm just repeating what I once heard the other Maria say.

Awkward silence, and then Ellie slips something out of her pocket and holds it out to me, "Think your brother's friend can fix this?"

It's a Sony Walkman. I've seen a few...crushed and definitely not worth recognizing, but this one doesn't look too bad.

I take it from her, observing the earbuds that come along with it and giving her a look back, "Really? You couldn't've untangled them?"

She laughs at this, and I smile.

I untangle the white wires and then glance at the Walkman, popping open the spot for cassettes and glancing at her, "Give me the diagnosis, Ellie."

"It clicks a lot. And...it skips on a lot of songs." Ellie goes on, and I shake it, trying to hear for looseness in parts. Nothing too bad, but there is a clinking.

"How're your batteries?" I ask, and she gives a shrug, "Dead, probably."

"That could be one aspect of it." I say, and then go on, "I'll have my brother's friend take a look at it when he comes back here."

I let it flop on the couch cushions, feeling tired. Personally, I prefer having a physical injury than a cold...or being infected. Just puts everything in perspective, doesn't it?

"Why didn't you shoot that guy yesterday?" Ellie asks, her tone simple curiosity. I scratch the back of my head, deliberately avoiding her eyes, "I couldn't reach it, remember?"

Ellie eyes me, her green eyes suddenly chilling my mind like ice, "Maria."

"Yeeesss?" I stretch out the word, letting my eyes dance away from her gaze and wander across the room. Ellie grabs my shoulder, reining me in, "Hey. Focus."

"What? I told you the truth." _Lying through my teeth. _I think, almost laughing. Ellie's face is hard to read, but finally she relents and leans back once more. Or at least she makes the motion to. With quick actions, she takes Felix out of my pocket, grabs my crutches, and leaps up.

"Hey!" I cry out, then I let myself laugh. Ellie gives a smug grin, holding out the crutches while scrolling through the playlist of Felix, "You want your thing back, you tell me the truth."

"You're really going to torture your friend while she's down?" I try to build up my case, but I only settle into the couch a bit deeper, "Mmm...I'm comfy right now."

Ellie shrugs, making as if she's to leave the room with both of the items, "Wait...!"

Turning, she faces me over her shoulder, "Yes?"

"I..." I can't even bring myself to say it, a fear that seems so petty after seeing her in action with a gun. My face feels hot and I lean over my knees, propped up on my elbows and twiddling my thumbs, "I can't shoot a gun."

I don't bring myself to say anything, and then Ellie laughs. She _laughs. _At me? Heat courses through my veins, from embarrassment or anger I can't tell yet, and I look up at her as she laughs.

"That's it? You couldn't shoot because you can't?" She's downright _jolly, _and it pisses me off. I narrow my eyes, "What?"

"Because you act like it's some big thing." She flops down beside me, leaning the crutches against the wall and tossing Felix back to me. I can't help but shrug, "I can't handle a gun. I can't shoot for some reason."

_Someone opened the frickin' floodgates, _I think as I go on, "I don't know why, but it drives me up wall. Maybe there's something tied to me and guns. The closest I've ever gotten is Mikey's airsoft pistol."

Ellie doesn't laugh anymore as I finish, and finally I sigh and turn back to face her, "I am _useless_ in this apocalypse."


	6. Not Quite Chapter 6

Almost 1000 views...wow. You guys are all incredible.  
I haven't written an Author's Note on previous chapters because I don't find them too entertaining, but I'm not knocking all of them. Some of them are really interesting to read, especially when authors discuss their reasoning behind certain scenes and characters.

Moving on...**I have decided to use my 'Author's Note' credit to let reviewers, curious readers, followers, and favoriters, to take the reins. I have many ideas in mind for this novel, but I'm a bit out of it now. It doesn't have to be a whole chapter, just maybe a scene you would enjoy reading in this. I know I'm really late on updating (school is the death of me, especially for a writer), so in overcoming this writer's block, I would love to hear from you all!**

Please just make sure your review suggestion doesn't have any profanity (not in language, but in more of context and actions). You can use any of the characters, either those previously mentioned, your own OC's who you envision living in the dam ('by the dam', whatever), or just plain old classics that starred in The Last of Us.

That being said, I'm off to finish off more homework. **Feel free to leave your suggestions, especially goofy ones because I get a kick out of reading and replying to those. **

**You will be credited in chapters for scenes you have suggested and if you are not following/favoriting this story I will PM you for your suggestions.**

Thank you all for your...awesomeness. Because it just is.


End file.
